The Black Arrow
by Mach9330
Summary: Having lived a full life as Naruto Uzumaki, he is reincarnated as Nathaniel Queen, a billionaire playboy only slightly better than Oliver. But after 5 years away, he comes back to Starling City a changed man, to rid the city of the people poisoning and corrupting it. As the Black Arrow. Naruto/Nathan x Harem.
1. Chapter 1 - Homecoming

**Disclaimer: I don't own any content by owned by Arrow, Naruto or Shawn129.**

 **AN: I do have permission to use Shawn 129's content until I get past where he currently is.  
**

Earth Prime

October 10, 1986

Starling City General

Billionaire Robert Queen paced the hallway of the Hospital as his wife Moira screamed in pain from childbirth, _"What was I thinking? We weren't ready for another child after Oliver."_ Robert thought shaking his head before a smile came upon his face _"I'll love this child all the same."_

Robert stopped pacing when he heard the cry of a new born, just as a nurse walked put smiling at him "Congratulations Mr. Queen it's a boy."

Robert smiled brightly as he was lead into the room, to see his beautiful wife smiling down at a bundle "Moira?'

"Robert, he's so beautiful." Moira said allowing Robert to see their baby who looked around the room his deep blue eyes holding some intelligence in them which surprised Robert. Robert looked back down to his child who grabbed his finger with a surprisingly strong grip.

"So Mr. and Mrs. Queen, have you decided on a name?" the nurse asked just as thunderstruck reminding them of the storm outside one of the worst Starling City has ever had.

"Nathaniel." Moira said . "His name will be Nathaniel Queen."

"Welcome to the family, son." Robert said holding his baby and smiling down at him before he looked to his wife smiling brightly when the baby smiled at him.

26 Years Later

Lian Yu

On an remote island, known as Lian Yu or Purgatory, all was silent while in a camp site a man wearing a green hood, with dirty blonde locks reaching down to his shoulders, cooked his fish, before he paused and looked up "A ship?" a raspy male voice said. Then, in a show of speed impossible for normal human, the man rushed forward before he kicked the side of a tree and jumped to a branch. He then began to run through the trees, his form blurring as he sped forward before he came through the brush and landed on a small mountain top looking over the ocean to see a small fisher ship close by before he lit a burning arrow and shot it at the pyre on the beach, causing it to erupt in an inferno catching the attention of the fisherman who decided to investigate, causing the man to smirk before he jumped forward to meet the fisher men.

 _My name is Nathaniel Queen. For 5 long years I've been suffering in hell, but now the time has come for me to return to Starling. It is now time to remove those that are poisoning my city. To do this, I must become the fire that burns away the infestation. I must become-something else._

5 Days Later

Starling City

"Nathaniel Queen is alive. The Starling City resident was found by fishermen in the North China Sea five days ago. Five years after he was presumed dead following the accident at sea which claimed _"The Queen's Gambit"_. Queen was a tabloid presence and fixture on the club scene. Queen is the son of Starling City billionaire Robert Queen who was also on board but now officially confirmed as deceased." the news reporter said.

Hospital

Moira Queen stood in the hallway looking at her baby boy, as he stood at the window watching the city, his hair was cut, back in its natural spiky golden blonde style.

"40% of his body is covered in scars tissue. He also has second degree burns on his back and arms. His mental state though, is what you should worry about. It's best to prepare yourself Moira, the Nathan you lost, might not be the one they found." a doctor said.

Moira turned to look at him "Has he said anything?" she asked.

"Nothing." the doctor said causing Moira to nod before she entered.

"Nathan?" Moira asked before Nathan turned to face her.

"Hi, Mom." Nathan said softly walking over as she teared up.

"Oh. My beautiful boy." Moira cried before she and Nathan embraced with Nathan smiling softly as a tear streamed from his eye listening to Moira sob, as she kissed his cheek.

Morning

Nathan dressed in a long sleeve black shirt, black slim fit Levi jeans and Nike Blazers walked into his home after his mother "Your room is exactly as you left it. I didn't have the heart to change a thing." Moira said, looking to Nathan who smiled at her before he saw a picture of Oliver, and Robert causing him to frown which Moira noticed sadly.

"Nathaniel."

Nathan looked over to see a bald African American man in a suit walk over "Damn good to see you."

Nathan looked at the man before he looked to Moira who looked a bit nervous, looking back to the man he asked "Who are you?"

"It's Walter. Walter Steele." Walter said.

"You remember Walter. Your father's friend from the company." Moira said causing Nathan to nod slowly in recognition before he saw a maid in the threshold and smiled walking over.

"It's good to see you, Raisa." Nathan said as the maid took his hands into her owns with a bright smile.

"Welcome home, Mr. Queen." Raisa said giggling when his eyebrow twitched "I see you still hate formalities."

Nathan nodded and tried to find the right words but settled for "It's a work in progress." he said causing her to smile before she looked to Moira.

"Tommy called. He wants to join you for dinner." Raisa said.

"Wonderful." Moira nodded while a door closing caused Nathan to look up toward the stairs and walk over to the steps "Nate? Did you hear that?"

Nathan remained silent as a teenage girl appeared at the top of the stairs "Hey, Thea." Nathan said.

The girl began to tear up as she came down the stairs "I knew it. I knew you were alive." she said jumping into his arms as he hugged her tightly "I missed you so much." she sniffled.

"I thought about you every single day." Nathan said causing her to tighten her arms around him.

Later

Nathan just got out of the shower, and walled to his mirror and dragged his hand across it wiping the fog away allowing him to see himself, along with the scars that littered his upper body. On his left pectoral was the symbol of a red Chinese dragon inside of a red circle. On his upper back, left side, was another dragon tattoo ( **Shado's Tattoo)(1)**.

Later

Nathan was now looking at a picture of his dad. He had a solemn look on his face , before he looked up when his friend, best friend Tommy walked in.

"What did I tell you? Yachts suck." Tommy said causing Nathan to smile and turn to him.

"Tommy Merlyn." Nathan greeted hugging the man in a brotherly fashion.

"I missed you, buddy." Tommy said laughing.

Later

Nathan, Tommy, and Thea sat across from Walter and Moira as Tommy caught Nathan up "Okay, what else did you miss? Super Bowl winners: Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers, Giants again. A black president, that's new." Tommy said as Nathan nodded watching as Walter poured his mother a glass of wine "Oh, and Lost. They were all dead. I think."

"What was it like there?" Thea asked causing everyone else to stop and look at him.

"Cold, lonely and downright miserable." Nathan said grimly, causing Thea to look at him sadly along with his mother.

"Tomorrow, you and me, hit the city. You've got a lot to catch up on." Tommy said causing Nathan to nod.

"Great idea." Moira said

"Good. I was hoping to swing by the office." Nathan said catching how Walter froze before he spoke.

"There's plenty of time for all that. Queen Consolidated isn't going anywhere." Walter said causing Nathan to look over at him

"But it is The Queen Families company is it not? So, as the last living male Queen, I have the right to walk in and see the company I'll eventually be taking charge of when I decide to." Nathan said staring Walter dead in the eye.

"Okay, so what else you miss?" Tommy asked him, hoping to change the subject as tension suddenly filled the room.

"Apparently my mother's wedding." Nathan said causing Moira, and Walter to look at Thea.

"I swear, I didn't say anything." Thea said.

"You didn't have to, Thea." Nathan said pointing to Walters hand "The both of you are wearing wedding rings, Walter has been here before I even walked in the house, and moments ago was blatantly pouring my mother a glass of wine."

Walter cleared his throat as he shifted uncomfortably, while Thea smiled and was a little amazed along with Tommy how Nathan was able to piece everything together.

"Nate, Walter and I don't want you to think that either one of us, did anything to disrespect your father." Moira said gently.

"I don't care about that, mom." Nathan said looking at her, as she frowned "Does he make you happy?"

Moira glanced to Walter and looked back to Nathan nodding her head "Yes, yes he does."

"Then, I have nothing more to say on the matter." Nathan said standing up "I need some air." He said, kissing Thea's forehead and tapping Tommy's shoulder Nathan walked off.

Midnight

Walter, and Moira walked into Nathan's room to see him asleep in his bed, as he flinched in his sleep while it thundered outside "Dad,….Sara...no."

Nathan was flinching more heavily screaming for Sara, and Robert, when Moira touched him "Nate! Wake up."

On instinct Nathan grabbed Moira and tossed her onto the bed and was over her with his fist raised "Nathaniel!" Walter screamed as Nathan looked down at Moira in horror before he quickly got away from her and huddled into a corner.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Nathan said hugging his knees to his chest

Moira looked at her son sadly and approached him and when she touched him he flinched before she pulled him into a hug "No, it's okay, Nathan. It's all right, sweetheart. You're home." Moira said as she clutched onto him tightly wondering what he's been through.

Morning

After giving Thea a rock called a Hozen, Nathan and Tommy went out, before he convinced Tommy to take him to see Laurel, his one night stand, Oliver's ex-girlfriend and Sara's sister, currently he was walking down the street with her "So you went to Law School?"

"5 Years and that's what you want to talk about?" Laurel asked.

"No." Nathan said looking at her sadly "I'm sorry about Sara."

"Are you?"

"Sara was my best friend, I had no idea that she was on the Gambit, until an hour into the trip."

"And I'm supposed to believe that? After what happened between us, Oliver decided to screw my little sister?"

"I never told Oliver that we slept together. Trust me I wanted to rub it in his face, but I didn't. I gave you my word."

"That used to mean something." Laurel said as Nathan looked at her seriously "We buried an empty coffin, because her body was in the bottom of the ocean where you left her. It should've been you." she spat but immediately regretted it when a dead expression came over Nathan's face, and she flinched seeing his eyes.

"Have a good day, Dinah." Nathan said coldly walking away.

Laurel stood there as she watched Nathan leave regretting what she said, as Nathan had been the responsible good brother, who was a bit of a playboy, but was very respectful when he needed to be, when his temper was in check, and he always looked out for Sara. With a sigh she walked back to work.

With Nathan

Nathan and Tommy walked to Tommy's car, "We took care of that. Good call. Now we can make up for lost time." Tommy said as Nathan took deep breath "If you're not sick of fish let's find some leggy models and eat sushi off them. What do you say?"

Nathan made to speak but a van pulled up behind them, and masked men got out "What the hell?" Nathan asked just as he and Tommy were shot with tranquilizers

Nathan fell to his knees looking up before his eyes widened when an elderly man walked out and saw what was going on "Hey!" he yelled only for one of the three men to open fire with his assault rifle, causing the man to die before he hit the ground. Nathan glared up at the man just as a hood was put over his face.

Flashback

2007

Nathan sat beside his dad, with his head in his lap, as tears streamed down his face, the reality of Oliver's death kicking in, he couldn't think of Sara being dead, there was always the chance she was just adrift somewhere in a piece of debris and hopefully she'd find away home and be safe.

"Here, son." Robert said handing Nathan a water bottle "Drink."

Nathan opened the water and took a sip.

"What the hell are you doing? That's all we've got." the surviving crewmen shouted.

"If anybody's making it out of here, it's gonna be him." Robert said glaring at the man before he looked to Nathan "I'm so sorry, I thought I'd have more time. I'm not the man you think I am. I didn't build our city. I failed it. And I wasn't the only one."

Nathan rose an eyebrow in confusion.

End Flashback

"Mr. Queen?" a muffled male voice said causing Nathan's eyes to snap open just as the hood was yanked off his face "Mr. Queen?!"

Nathan looked around as a man held a taser in his face, and saw Tommy on the ground unconscious but alive "Did your father survive that accident? I ask the questions. You give me the answers." the man with the taser said before he tasered Nathan who groaned "Did he make it to the island? Did he tell you anything?"

The man quickly tasered Nathan again only to stop when Nathan began to laugh and step back looking to his partners "Yes, he did."

"What did he tell you Mr. Queen?" the man asked before he saw Nathan smirk and pain, followed by darkness was all he knew

Nathan yanked his kunai from the man's forehead, and used his body as a shield when his partner opened fire, before he spun around the man and slit the second man's throat, while the last man the old man ran, while Nathan ran over to Tommy and checked for a pulse. Finding one, he stood up, he threw his kunai so hard that the blade pierced though the back of the guys head and came out the front, impaling itself in the wall, leaving a noticeable spider-web crack. Nathan retrieved his kunai and within a minute was back zip-tied to the chair just as Tommy awoke, none the wiser that his friend had just slaughtered 3 people, armed with assault rifles, with only a kunai.

Later

Queen Manor

Nathan, Tommy, Moira, and Walter sat in the comfort room with Dt. Lance father of Laurel, and Sara the man was shooting dirty looks at Nathan who told him of a man wearing a mask and a hood had saved him and Tommy.

"So that's your story?" Lance asked in disbelief "A guy in a black hood, and a mask covering the bottom of his face flew in and single-handedly took out three armed kidnappers? I mean, who is he? Why would he do that?"

"Hell if I know. Find him, and you can ask." Nathan said annoyed at the dirty looks he was being given from the man.

"What about you? You see the hood guy?" Lance asked Tommy who just shook his head.

"I saw nothing, when I woke up the guys were dead, Nathan was zip tied to the chair, and that's it.

"Yeah." Lance nodded before he glared at Nathan "It's funny, isn't it? One day back and somebody's gunning for you. Aren't you popular?"

"It's both a gift and a curse." Nathan shrugged nonchalantly.

Lance made to shout at Nathan but Moira spoke "Were you able to identify the men?"

"Scrubbed identities. Untraceable weapons. These were pros." Lance's partner said.

"Yeah. They figured you'd pay a king's ransom to get your boy back. Or a Queen's ransom, as it were. After all, a parent would do anything to keep their child safe." Lance said snarkingly as he glared at Nathan.

"You sure you're okay, Detective?" Nathan asked looking the man in the eye "Perhaps you shouldn't be the one leading this case, since it seems to me, you couldn't give two shits if I died."

"You listen here you son-"

"Quentin." Lance's partner hissed stopping his partner.

"Mr. Lance, you seem to share the habit of projecting your anger at my brother onto me, when I've done nothing wrong to your family. Oliver took Sara onto the yacht, not me. Is your anger justified? Certainly, but the man your angry at is dead...so get the hell out of my house and go do your job." Nathan said harshly while Quentin stood up and left along with his partner, as Nathan stood up, and watched after him, Moira catching the tear that slipped from his eye frowned sadly as he walked away.

Next Day

Nathan wearing a black v-neck, black jeans, and a leather jacket walked out the house, ready to leave when he stopped when Moira called his name "Nathan!"

Turning around he saw her and Walter walking toward him from a buff, African American man standing with a stiff posture "I'd like you meet someone. This is John Diggle, he'll be accompanying you from now on."

"I really don't need a babysitter mom." Nathan said.

"Darling, Nathaniel is a grown man. If he doesn't feel he needs armed protection," Walter butted in.

"You know, I understand but this is something I need." Moira interrupted looking at Nathan who glanced to Diggle before he sighed looking to his mother.

"Fine." Nathan said causing Moira to smile before she kissed his cheek and walked away.

Moments Later

Nathan sat in the back of the Rolls-Royce while Diggle drove "So what do I call you?" Nathan asked making conversation.

"Diggle's good...Dig, if you want." John said.

"You're ex-military?" Nathan asked looking out the window before he smirked

"Yes, sir. 105th Airborne out of Kandahar, retired. Been in the private sector a little more than four years now. I don't want there to be any confusion. My ability to keep you from harm will outweigh your comfort. Do we have an agreement?...Sir?... Sir?" John not hearing a response looked back only to see Nathan was gone and immediately slammed on the breaks and got out looking for his charge.

Abandoned Queen Industrial Warehouse

With Nathan

Nathan walked into the warehouse, and paused seeing a note on the door "Have your weapons, and your suit ready. Good Luck, Beloved. T."

Nathan smiled at the note that was left by Talia, walking inside he saw a salmon ladder, lots of other workout equipment, and a wall with different types of swords, a bow and lots of arrows, and numerous kunais, shuriken, and other types of knives.

Seeing a box on a desk, Nathan walked over and opened it to see his suit and mask **.** His suit **(AN: Which is the same design as Oliver's first costume.)** was jet black with red accents around the hood and on the arms. His costume had a black and red utility belt wear he stored all his kunai and shuriken **(AN: Shuriken looks like this: product/black-titanium-ninja-star-aspx/)**. He had a tactical katana **(Can be found here along with kunai looks: product/full-tang-ninja-sword-with-kunai-knives/)** strapped across his back **.** He wore black leather gloves with a black metal plate on the back of the hand. He wore black steel gauntlets with three blades on the side **(His gauntlets and gloves are the same ones that Ra's AL Ghul wears in the training scene in "Batman Begins").** He also had a facemask that covered his mouth, jaw and nose **(Kakashi's facemask). (2)**

Nathan himself meditated for a few hours, before he walked to the desk, and pulled out his father's book, where names were written on every page, before his attention went to the news coverage that had Laurel's face on it along with some bald, fat, middle aged guy.

"The suit alleges Hunt committed acts of fraud and theft against the underprivileged. Laurel Lance, attorney for the city," putting the TV on mute, Nathan looked to his father's book, and found the name Adam Hunt.

After researching his target, Nathan began to get ready "Adam Hunt's crimes go deeper than simple fraud and theft but anyone who has gotten too close to the truth, he's been able to bully, bribe, or kill. Well, he has yet to deal with me." Nathan said placing his mask on as his eyes changed to a blood red color with slit pupils.

Later

Parking Lot

Adam Hunt, and 3 men walked toward his limousine "Remind Grell, I put him on the bench. I can take him off. I will turn him into a cautionary tale." Adam said.

"Yes, Mr. Hunt." his lapdog said.

"And this attorney, Laurel Lance? You said she wasn't gonna be a problem anymore. I told you to fix that situation." Adam said before he glared at the man who looked at him "Why are you still here?"

The man quickly ran off, while Adam and his two guards walked away, but the lights burst into sparks when Shuriken were thrown at them, causing Adam and his men to look up in bewilderment, before a kunai struck a man in his heart, causing him to grunt and fall.

"Get in the car!" Adam's other guard ordered opening the door allowing Adam to get inside, and as soon as the door was closed the man opened fire at where he thought the attacker was.

" **You missed.** " a dark voice behind him, before he was pierced between the eyes by a black and red arrow, causing Adam to shout in surprise before he was grabbed and thrown to the ground to see a black figure with on top of the car.

"Woah! woah! woah!" Adam shouted as the figure was now standing over him "Look, just- Just tell me what you want."

Adam grunted when the man grabbed him by his throat and held him up so that he was looking into the blood red irises and slit pupils of Nathan " **You're gonna transfer $40 million into Starling City Bank account - 1141 by 10 p.m. tomorrow night.** " **(AN: FYI, Naruto's voice Modulator makes him sound exactly like Prometheus from Arrow's Season 5)(3).**

"Or what?" Adam asked.

" **Or I'm gonna take it by force. And you won't like how**. **This is your only warning**. **There will not be another** " the man said walking away as Adam breathed a sigh of relief but needing to get the last word he shouted.

"If I see you again, you're dead!" Adam yelled only for the man to continue walking and flick his arm back, before Adam gasped in pain, when a shuriken sliced his right cheek right under his eyes wide open. looking back clutching his face he saw the throwing star embedded deep into his limousines trunk.

Later

Adam's Office

Lance, and his partner were in front of Adam who had a bandage on his cheek "He was wearing a black hood, and he had these red eyes, he had a sword." Adam said and saw the detectives look at each other "What, you don't believe me?" he asked picking up the shuriken and handing it to Lance's partner "That maniac put two of my men in the morgue."

"Well, thanks for your statement. We'll put out an APB on a _ninja_." Quentin said sarcastically.

"Hey, pal, I'm not some grocer who got taken for his register. I go to the front of the line." Adam said glaring at Quentin "He said he'd be back here by 10 p.m. Make sure you're here first. You can coordinate with…my new head of security."

Quentin, and his partner looked over to the man who nodded, "All right. Well, uh, thanks for your time." Quentin said as he and his partner left.

"Looks like Queen was telling the truth." Quentin's partner said looking at the shuriken.

"Yeah, well, there's a first time for everything." Quentin said still sore on how Nathan had talked to him "This hooded guy comes looking for trouble, he'll find it."

Later

Queen Manor

Nathan walked out of the house, in a white button up, black jeans, and white/black Maison Margiela 22 Future Hightops walking to the Rolls-Royce he opened the door to see Diggle in the back seat "Put on your seatbelt, sir. Wouldn't want you to miss your party."

Nathan smiled as he got in, chuckling.

Club

Nathan walked into the party checking his phone to see he had an about 50 minutes to party, putting his phone up he looked up just as a spotlight was put on him, as Tommy ran over queuing the DJ to cut the music as everyone turned to him and Tommy "Everybody, hey! Man of the hour! And, ladies, please give this man a proper homecoming."

Nathan smiled as 4 very beautiful women lead him to a table as We Are The Champions played, getting onto the table Nathan smiled "Thank you very much, everybody!"

"Nate!" Tommy called handing Nathan a shot of Tequila, knocking the shot back Nathan smiled.

"God, have I missed alcohol!" Nathan yelled causing everyone to shout and raise their glasses, "Dj, play the music, I've been gone for 5 long years and I have a lot to catch up on!"

The music played as Nathan got off the table, and began to mingle.

Across the Street

Adam was still in his office, and took drinking a glass of Scotch, his hand shaking as he noticed he had 30 minutes left, while his men loaded their assault rifles walking over to the window. Hunt looked down to the club and frowned "What the hell's going on out there?"

"Across the street. Party for the guy they rescued off that island. Nathan Queen." Drackon said.

Club

Nathan was talking to some old friends who showed up to support him when Tommy walked over and pointed to Digg who was watching him like a hawk "Hey, does he wipe for you too?" he asked causing Nathan to shake his head before Tommy took him by the shoulder and turned him to the girls dancing on the table "Now, by my rough estimate, you have not had sex in 1839 days. As your wing man, I highly recommend Carmen Golden."

"Which one?" Nathan asked.

"She looks like the chick from Twilight." Tommy said.

"What's Twilight?" Nathan asked Tommy.

"You're soooo better off not knowing." Tommy said causing Nathan to smile.

"I'll take your word for it." Nathan said before he frowned when he saw Thea talking to someone who reached into his pocket.

"Back in a sec." Nathan said Tommy, walking over to his sister who was about to take drugs from some punk, before his hand shot out and grabbed the man's fingers and broke all the bones in his hand.

"Ahh!" the man shouted as Nathan took the drugs from his hand.

"Nathan!" Thea called shock as she and her friends watched along with Diggle, and Tommy

"You have one of three choices. Option 1; I call the cops, and tell them you were about to give drugs to minors who shouldn't even be here. Option 2; we walk outside, and I beat your ass to unrecognizable pulp for attempting to give my baby sister drugs. Option 3; you get the fuck out of here right now. Please, choose Option 2." Nathan said glaring at the man.

"Okay, man chill out I'll leave." the man said before Nathan released him.

"I better not see you in here again." Nathan said as the drug dealer quickly left while Nathan looked to Thea.

"Who let you in here?" Nathan asked frowning

"I'm not 12 anymore." Thea said.

"No, you're 17." Nathan retorted.

"Nate, I love you, but you can't come back here and judge me. Especially for being just like you, and Ollie." Thea said.

"And look where that got us." Nathan said before he sighed and ran a hand through his hair "Look, I get that it wasn't easy when I was...dead, and you probably found this as a way to cope, but I don't like it, and I will be there to ruin your buzz every time I catch you, do you understand me?"

Thea looked at Nathan and wanted to argue but couldn't as he motioned for Diggle "See to it that my sister and her friends get home safely." Nathan said causing Diggle to look like he wanted to protest "I'm at a party with nothing but beautiful women around, get my sister home safely Dig, and come back. I won't disappear. Scouts Honor."

Diggle looked at Nathan for a moment and nodded before he lead the girls out of the club, shaking his head Nathan walked to the trash and tossed the drugs away before he made to head back to the party but bumped into Laurel "You're here. Why are you here?" Nathan asked

"Tommy. He made the point that we have too many years between us to leave things the way we left them." Laurel said causing Nathan to nod slowly, taking note of Tommy watching jealously from the bar "Is there some place quieter that we could go?"

"Yeah." Nathan nodded before they walked off.

Moments Later

Nathan was leaning on the rail of the top floor overlooking the party as Laurel stood beside him "I'm sorry about saying that you should've been the one who died. That was wrong. I was projecting my anger at Oliver onto you, and that was wrong."

"I had hoped that when she was swept overboard that may she was adrift on a piece of debris and found by someone and returned safely to you and your family." Nathan said causing Laurel to look at him "I hated Oliver for years. He ruined your relationship with Sara, and got her killed. You were right when you said it should've been me, because I failed her. I sometimes think if I had never approached you both that day all those years ago at the mall, this pain wouldn't have been visited upon you and your parents."

Laurel looked at Nathan sadly watching as he laughed mirthlessly blinking the tears away from his eyes "If you need someone to talk to about what happened to you, I'm here."

Nathan looked at her before his phone vibrated and he checked it to see it was 10 pm and no money had been deposited into the account, causing him to frown.

"Something wrong?" Laurel asked.

"Just some reports requesting interviews." Nathan said, putting his phone in his pocket before he looked at her seriously "I would like that Laurel. I really do, but it's better, if you stay away from me. My family has put you through enough, and the last thing I want is to hurt you again."

Laurel made to speak but Nathan kissed her before she could, and the two began to make out passionately before he pulled away leaning his forehead against hers as they breathed heavily "That'll hold me together for another 5 years." Nathan said kissing her forehead before he walked off leaving Laurel to watch after him sadly.

Nathan slipped out after that.

Adam Hunts Building

Drackon was putting the men into position, "You two cover the elevator. Hang back and be ready. Stay in the corners and stay alert." Drackon said walking to Hunts office and closing the doors before he activated the security system "It's past 10. He's never getting in here."

Adam nodded and turned to look out the window missing the black kunai that struck the outside wall with an audible crack.

Quentin and his partner were in front of the building with a few other cops waiting "All's clear." Quentin nodded.

"Yeah." his partner said.

With Adam

Adam was calming down figuring the man was all talk, but the lights suddenly cut out, caused his nerves to act up once again.

As the elevator dinged, the door opened and a black and red arrow hit one of the five guards in the heart, causing his gun to fire into the ceiling. Nathan stepped out and punched one the guards knee caps out, before pivoting around, taking out his tactical katana and slicing his throat open before slicing the neck of the one who had his knee cap broken. Not losing momentum, he threw one of his shuriken into the neck one of the last two remaining guards in the hall, before moving behind a pillar, to avoid getting shot. He threw a kunai from behind the cover of the pillar, which hit the guy in the hands, causing him to drop his gun, before Nathan rushed out and kicked him through the glass doors of Adam's office causing the man to be lit up with gunfire. Entering Nathan shot one of his black and red arrows into a man's chest, before he ducked under a swing and elbowed his attackers knee causing it to cave in, before Nathan snapped the guys neck, and shot an arrow at Adam who ducked while Nathan had his bow trained on him.

"You missed!" Adam said

" **You would think so**." Nathan said before he was tackled by Drackon and the two began to fight while Adam eased out of the room and made a call to Quentin.

"He's here!" Adam said frantically

Downstairs

"All units converge. All units converge." Quentin yelled as he and his fellow law enforcement officers ran to the building

Nathan ducked under Drackon's wild swing, and begin to Bob and weave through the man's wild attacks, before he grabbed the man's arm when he attempted a right cross, and yanked him forward and an unforgiving elbow to his nose causing the man to fall to the ground and Nathan threw a shuriken into Drackon's neck when he tried to reach for his gun. **(4)**

Taking deep breaths Nathan calmed himself, before he looked to where he heard multiple rushing footsteps "Lay down your weapons or we will open fire. I repeat, lay down your weapons!" Quentin yelled, only for Nathan to get up and run causing the cops to immediately began shooting but they were shocked when he jumped through the window

Rushing over Quentin and his partner saw the black figure glide across the street and land on the rooftop of the building when the Queen's party just so happened to be "Tell me you saw that." Quentin's partner said

"Okay. Let's go. Move!" Quentin ordered as he and cops ran

Club

Nathan had returned without anyone noticing, and currently had 2 girls leaning into his side whose names were Alexis (Nina Dobrev) and Pamela (Shay Mitchell), having a good time, everyone groaned when a S.W.A.T. member ordered the Dj to cut the music.

"Search the building. Roof to basement. Find him!" Quentin yelled a as he approached the crowd while Nathan stood up "Starling City police. The party's over, kids! Oh, Mr. Merlyn. Imagine my shock to find you here. Roofie anyone special tonight?" Quentin asked glaring at Tommy who smiled.

"Detective." Nathan said walking forward causing Quentin to look at him "This is a private party."

"There was an incident at Adam Hunt's building. Know about that?" Quentin asked suspiciously.

"Who's Adam Hunt?" Nathan asked.

"A millionaire bottom feeder. I'm surprised you aren't friends."

"Well I am a friendly guy, but I have no new friends, seeing as I've been out of town for a while." Nathan shrugged as Tommy chuckled.

"Yeah. Well, he just got attacked by the guy with the hood. The guy that saved your ass the other day." Quentin said still glaring at Nathan.

"Really, did you catch him?" Nathan asked only for Quentin to glare, "Shame, I would really like to speak with him."

"Did you even try to save her?" Quentin asked stepping into Nathan's face.

"Okay, let's go partner." Quentin's partner said starting to pull him away.

"Did you even try to save my daughter?" Quentin asked.

"You'll never know." Nathan said causing Quentin to try to rush him but his partner and a other officer pulled him away.

"Sara wouldn't want this. Let's go." his partner said.

"Now that, that is over with. Let's party!" Nathan yelled getting cheers from everyone just as the music started but Tommy grabbed his shoulder.

"Some coincidence. You asking to have your party here and Hunt getting robbed next door. And by the same guy who rescued us at the warehouse." Tommy said

"I know right." Nathan said smiling as Alexis, and Sally appeared by him, and he wrapped an arm around their shoulders "Don't worry about it Tommy. If I were you, Tommy, I'd just be glad you're still alive."

"What happened to you on that island?" Tommy asked with a frown.

Nathan winked at Tommy and left with the two girls.

Next Morning

Adam Hunt was enraged as he yelled into his phone "What the hell are you talking about? Forty million dollars doesn't just up and vanish...Untraceable? It is $40 million. Find it!"

Slamming his phone onto his desk, he sat down putting his face into his hands "How did he do it?" he asked unwary of the arrow Nathan had tossed at him was sticking to his wall, and a small light was blinking on it

Queen Manor

Nathan sat at the foot of his bed, looking at his tablet, as he remotely drained Adam Hunts bank account, and split it up between all the people he had extorted from.

Crossing with a smirk he closed the window, and placed his tablet down after shutting it off and looked to the picture of him and his dad on his desk.

Flashback

2007

Nathan was on the raft with his dad, and the crew worker, trying to sleep, while his dad watched the crew worker who was leaning on the raft with a hunting knife in hand "There's not enough for all of us." Robert whispered to Nathan.

"Save your strength, dad. I can't lose anyone else." Nathan whispered back.

"You can survive this. Make it home, make it better. Right my wrongs. But you gotta live through this first. You hear me, Nathan? You hear me, son?"

Nathan was looking at his dad, and nodded slowly "Just rest, Dad. You can't give up." he said closing his eyes to sleep before he heard a gunshot causing him to spring up and see his dad had shot the crew member sending him into the ocean.

"Dad?" Nathan asked in shock.

"Survive." Robert said putting the gun to his head causing Nathan's eyes to widen as he rushed forward reaching for Robert.

"No!" Nathan yelled as the gun went off and his dad killed himself, clutching his body to himself Nathan sobbed, as his father died in front of him. **(5)**

End Flashback

Nathan was snapped out if his flashback when the girls began to kiss his back, and Pamela brought him into a kiss, while Alexis got onto her knees between his legs taking him into her mouth.

Later

A man dressed in all black walked over to Moira and spoke "The police failed to identify the men I hired to kidnap Nathaniel. And they never will. Should we arrange another abduction?"

"No. There are other ways of finding out what my son knows." Moira said getting a nod from her accomplice as she looked up to the window of Nathan's bedroom, he and his two guest having been locked in said room all day. Despite herself she couldn't help but smile, as it was just like old times even though her heart was still broken as her eldest boy was deceased, she still loved Nathan with all her heart.

 **Chapter finished**

 **Naruto will still follow the Arrow theme. It's not an Arrow crossover without the use of bow and arrows.**

 **Points:**

 **1: His history for the first, a large portion of his 2** **nd** **, and 3** **rd** **years is the same as Oliver's, so I will not be doing many if any flashbacks when I right those. He was only slightly better than Oliver before the Island.**

 **2: His outfit is still similar to Oliver's first costume. It's not an Arrow Crossover if there's no Arrows.**

 **3: Prometheus's voice modulator is cool, plus the one Oliver uses sound's to much like his usual voice.**

 **4: Naruto/Nathan is armed to the teeth with kunai, shuriken, and arrows, so this is totally plausible.**

 **5: This a Naruto was reincarnated story, therefore, has no recollection of his old life.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Dealing with Somers

**Black Arrow 2**

1 Week Later

It's been a week since Nathan had returned. Besides sleeping with every beautiful woman he's come across, he also crossed of some of the other names on the list. Last night, he had found one, and forced the man to return the money he had stolen from innocent people.

Walking toward the foyer while tightening his tie, he gave a loud yawn he stretched his arms out "Still tired?" Moira asked.

"Well he has been sleeping with pretty much everybody since he's been back." Thea said a bit salty, as Nathan had been killing her buzz every chance he got, just like he said he would.

"Five years of no sex." Nathan stated, as if that explained everything. Picking up a Granny Smith Apple from the fruit bowl, taking a bite out of his apple, his attention went to a news report.

"Over the past 15 years, Mr. Redmond has withdrawn more than 30 million dollars from the plan's account. Mr. Redmond claims refunding the Halcyon pension plan has always been his intent. But some sources say Redmond was coerced by the vigilante."

Nathan looked at the drawing of his mask, and looked to his family "Someone's getting famous." he said smirking "It's nice to see our culture has improved while I was away."

"The city used to be different. People used to feel safe." Moira said standing up as Walter helped her put her jacket on.

"Oh. What's the matter, Mom? Afraid we're gonna be next?" Thea asked smirking.

"Do you have any questions, Nathaniel? It's a simple proof of life declaration. Read out a brief statement to the judge and your death in absentia judgment will be voided." Walter said.

"It's fine. I've been in a courtroom before. Now can we get this over with, so I can get out of this bloody suit, please." Nathan said causing Thea, and Moira to smile knowing of Nathan's dislike for wearing suits, and tuxedos while Walter frowned a bit, since all he wore were suits.

Later

Courtroom

Nathan stood in front of the bench as everyone from the Lance family, to his own and others watched him as he told the story of what happened "I heard Sara scream, and ran to my brother's room, to find her crying in a corner, wh-while a large pipe had ran Oliver through the heart. I tried to get Sara to come with me to safety but then the ship capsized and she fe-fell out the window. I swam to the surface, and my dad pulled me into a life raft. For a few hours, we were adrift and in that time my dad kept apologizing. For what I don't know, but when he saw that there were only enough food and water for one person he put a gun to his head told me he loved me, and he….pulled the trigger." Nathan said, struggling emotionally with a few parts, causing people to gasp and mutter amongst themselves. Laurel, Tommy, Thea, and Moira looked at Nathan in shock and horror, while Quentin got up and walked off, only caring about what happened to Sara. He will never forgive the Queen family for what they did to his family.

"I almost died. I thought that I had because I spent so many days on that life raft before I saw the island. When I reached it, I knew that I was gonna have to live for all of us. And in those five years, it was the thought of my family, and friends that kept me going."

"Your Honor, we move to vitiate the death-in-absentia filed after Nathaniel's disappearance at sea aboard the Queen's Gambit five years ago." a lawyer said as Nathan looked back to Thea who was wiping her eyes of tears "Unfortunately, we will not be requesting that the declaration of death filed for the petitioner's father and brother, Robert Queen and Oliver Queen, be rescinded. The Queen family is only entitled to one miracle, I'm afraid."

Nathan frowned and took a deep breath.

30 Minutes Later

After telling his mom that he wasn't up to going to the office, Nathan and Tommy walked out of the court room "Last week you couldn't wait to get to the company."

"Tommy, you really need to stop micro-analyzing me." Nathan said with an annoyed sigh before he looked to the large crowd of reporters "Who is that?"

Tommy raised an eyebrow looking over "Martin Somers. Laurel's prosecuting him." he said.

Nathan nodded and glanced over his shoulder at Diggle who was behind him, tapping Tommy's shoulder Nathan walked forward, with Diggle on him.

"Oh, there's Mr. Queen." a reporter said before they rushed him but he raised a hand

"This is my friend Mr. Diggle, he'll answer all your questions." Nathan said causing Diggle to look at him in shock just as the reporters turned their attention onto him.

"Mr. Queen!" Diggle yelled as recorders were put in his face as he watched Nathan push through the crowd and go to the driver door of the Rolls-Royce, and smirked at him before getting into the vehicle and speeding off.

Nathan's Base

Nathan had stopped a few blocks away from the courthouse and immediately went to his base, currently he was reading the journal and narrowed his eyes at the name above Adam Hunt's.

' _Martin Somers: Businessman and CEO of_ _ **Starling Port.**_ _Also secret benefactor to the Starling City Triad. The Starling City Triad pays him handsomely and he lets them smuggle in drugs and other illegal things through his port. Laurel's target is one of the worst of Starling City, so it's no surprise his name is on my father's list. The city's police and DA can't stop him, or won't. Laurel thinks she's the only one willing to bring him to justice. She's wrong.'_

Docks

Martin Somers was seriously pissed off. That bitch lawyer!Thinks she's safe just because her dad was some punk-ass cop, well she was in for a rude awakening! Turning to his men he spoke "You, listen up. The longer this goes on, the more the media is gonna crucify me. You shut this trial down, understand me?"

"Yes, sir." a man said right before a shuriken took out the light, and when it flickered again, Martin Somers men were unconscious, with a kunai stabbed into the desk, and the man himself was gone.

Elsewhere on Docks

Martin groaned as he awoke to find himself hanging upside down, while a figure was holding a bow " **Martin Somers**." a dark voice greeted.

"Who the hell are you?" Martin asked only to gasp when the man began to walk forward, revealing his blood red eyes and slit pupils.

" **You have failed this city.** " Nathan said walking forward as Martin began to struggle.

"No, no, no." Martin screamed as Nathan came to a stop right in front of him as Martin felt a tremor of fear run down his spine.

" **This is your only warning.** **You're going to testify in that trial to having Victor Nocenti killed. You won't get a second chance.** " Nathan growled before he fired an arrow, causing Martin to scream before he grabbed his cheek as blood leaked from the fresh wound, and looked to see he was alone.

Queen Manor

1 hour later

Nathan had gone to the mall where he met the beautiful Nozomi Sasaki, a Japanese glamour model who was in town on holiday. Going with the flow, Nathan and Nozomi walked into the manor, to hear his mother, arguing with Diggle.

"I hired you to protect my son. I'm not a bodyguard, but it seems to me the first requirement would be staying next to the man you're hired to protect." Moira said.

"With all due respect ma'am, I've never had a client who didn't want my protection." Diggle said.

"I hired you. That makes me the client." Moira replied as she paced in front of Diggle "Now, where do you think my son is going on these chaperone-less excursions?"

"Ma'am, I truly do not know." Diggle said as Nathan appeared leaning in the threshold.

"And he truly doesn't." Nathan said getting their attention.

"Then perhaps you'd like to share with me, you know, where it is you run off to?" Moira said.

"Well mom. I've been alone for 5 years, so I've been getting to know people and catching up with the times." Nathan said just as Nozomi walked in looking amazed "Mom, Diggle this is Nozomi Sasaki."

"Pleasure to meet you." Nozomi said shaking Moira's hand as Moira smiled.

"Likewise, welcome to my home." Moira said politely.

'It's very lovely." Nozomi replied.

"Can I have a moment with my son, please?" Moira said.

"Sure." Nozomi said, before she pecked Nathan's cheek.

"Raisa, would you please show my new friend to my room please?" Nathan asked his friend/maid who smiled and nodded.

"Follow me please." Raisa said before she lead the model away, as Moira frowned at Nathan.

"What?" Nathan asked smiling.

"You think this is funny?" Moira asked upset.

"Mom," Nathan began.

"It's not safe."

"I don't need protection, Mom. I'm not a baby, I can take care of myself." Nathan said.

"You've already been abducted once. Your old club fights have nothing to do with this. There is a maniac out there hunting the wealthy. This isn't a game. I lost you once. And I am not going through that again."

"Okay." Nathan nodded "I promise, Dig, will always have Nathaniel Queen in his field of vision." he said.

"Thank you." Moira said about to walk off but Nathan grabbed her wrist causing her to look at him.

"I apologize for worrying you, it'll take some time for me to get used to being back here. I'll try better, to get reacquainted with society." Nathan said causing Moira to nod before she hugged him tightly.

"I'm just so worry about you." Moira said causing Nathan to nod before she left, and Nathan looked to Diggle.

"Have a good night, Mr. Diggle. I'd stick around but I got a hot woman waiting upstairs." Nathan said walking off, causing Diggle to scoff and leave.

Next Morning

Docks

Martin sat in his office, while police and CSI members were looking around "Well, I owe you an apology, Mr. Somers. We come all the way down to your docks and turns out you don't need the police." Quentin said.

"Which is exactly what I've been saying." Martin said coldly sitting in his desk.

"So I guess that 911 call we got last night from your stevedores saying you were attacked by a guy in a hood, a bow and arrow, and some ninja weapons." Quentin said as he looked to a mark in the desk, "I guess that was that a practical joke?"

"These guys like to fool around." Martin shrugged.

"Yeah. You know, I'd be very inclined to believe an 'honest' upstanding businessman like yourself except Well, one of my men found this at your docks." Quentin said grabbing an arrow from an evidence bag "You see, there's this vigilante running around. He thinks he's Robin Hood or something. Robbing the rich. Trying to teach them a lesson, I guess I don't know. But the point is, the man is a killer. And nothing and no one is gonna stop me from bringing him clown." Quentin grabbed a kunai from the evidence bag and placed the kunai back into the hole in the desk seeing that it was a perfect fit, and looked up at Martin, who frowned "But like you said clearly nothing happened here last night."

"Isn't this a conflict of interest, Detective? After all, your daughter is suing me."

"I'm good at keeping my emotions in check." Quentin lied seeing as he was blaming the innocent brother of a dead man who was the cause of his daughter's death.

"I'm not." Martin scowled standing up and glaring at Quentin "You and your daughter don't wanna find out what I'm capable of when I get emotional."

Quentin frowned and with a nod turned away leaving, a bit unsettled.

Nathaniel's Car

 _"Yeah. You know, I'd be very inclined to believe an 'honest' upstanding businessman like yourself except Well, one of my men found this at your docks." Quentin said grabbing a arrow from an evidence bag "You see, there's this vigilante running around. He thinks he's Robin Hood or something. Robbing the rich. Trying to teach them a lesson, I guess I don't know. But the point is, the man is a killer. And nothing and no one is gonna stop me from bringing him down." Quentin placed a kunai from the evidence bag back into the hole in the desk seeing that it was a perfect fit, and looked up at Martin, who frowned "But like you said. Clearly, nothing happened here last night."_

 _"Isn't this a conflict of interest, Detective? After all, your daughter is suing me."_

 _"I'm good at keeping my emotions in check." Quentin lied seeing as he was blaming the innocent brother of a dead man who was the cause of his daughter's death._

 _"You and your daughter don't wanna find out what I'm capable of when I get emotional."_ Nathan heard from his live feed on his phone as he was on his way to Queen Consolidated. Growling, he cut the feed.

"If you try anything Martin, I'll make you wish you were dead." He said to himself.

Queen Consolidated

Nathan walked into his family's company with a whistle of awe, as Moira walked beside him arm in arm, ignoring Walter. Nathan looked to the very attractive female employees, who were giving him looks of appreciation, and lust, however his gaze locked with a blonde, glasses wearing IT girl, and he winked at her, before smiling as he watched her blush, and walk off.

"Ha, ha, are you enjoying yourself?" Moira asked.

"Yes, I am." Nathan said as Walter lead them into the office.

"I remember your father brought you here when you were a boy."

"Yeah, used to bore me to sleep." Nathan chuckled as he felt Moira tighten her hold on his arm, causing his smile to widen slightly.

"You always were so excited to leave." Walter reminisced.

"Yeah, so what have I missed?" Nathan asked.

"Well, Queen Consolidated's success of late is a result of its targeted diversification. We have been making impressive inroads in cutting-edge fields like biotech and clean energy."

"That's neat." Nathan nodded.

"Nathan, Walter and I have something to discuss with you." Moira said sitting on the couch and patting the seat next to her "Come, please, sit."

Nathan nodded and sat beside Moira, looking at her with a raised eyebrow, before looking to Walter who spoke "The company is about to break ground on a site for the Applied Sciences division. And we would like to honor your father by dedicating the building in his name."

"Sounds good." Nathan nodded.

"And we'd like to make an announcement at the dedication. That you will be taking a leadership position in the company." Moira said.

"No." Nathan said shaking his head.

"No. Your-your company-" Moira started.

"I know mom, but I only just returned a week ago from 5 years of isolation, I'm not mentally ready to lead anything." Nathan said looking at her seriously before he gave a smile "I will lead the company, just not yet."

Moira nodded with a frown, which was when Nathan said, "But how about we start The Robert Queen Foundation?"

"The Robert Queen Foundation?" Walter asked.

"Yeah, a Foundation that would fund scientific research and help research by providing facilities and training. Also, medicine and medical help, it'll give annual awards for medical breakthroughs and lifelong commitment, similar to the Nobel Foundation. Also it'll be responsible for the funds and running dozens of other free clinics all over the city and in other trouble cities like the Glades."

"Also The Oliver Queen Foundation could be a patron foundation and supporter of arts, families, education and tolerance. The foundation would support and help to run a number of orphanages and free schools, and provides teachers for those who have learning difficulties. Artists could apply for grants from the foundation to help support them in furthering their arts. The foundation could sponsor companies like Family Finders Inc."

'Family Finders?' Walter asked confused.

"Family Finders is an organization directed at finding lost people and uniting families." Nathan answered before looking to Moira who looked thoughtful "The foundation could also sponsor and run dozens of soup kitchens within the city." Nathan said.

"Nathaniel, I don't thi-"

'I love it." Moira said interrupting Walter who frowned as Nathan smiled brightly.

Later

Queen Manor

Nathan was in the kitchen, cutting up some vegetables when he looked up as Thea dressed up walked through "Hey, where you going?" he asked.

"Somewhere loud and smokey." Thea said smugly, as Nathan sighed "What're you doing?'

"Well today's the second Tuesday of the month." Nathan said causing Thea to blink in shock "I thought we could hang out, and you could help me catch up on movies?"

Thea looked at Nathan for a minute, every second Tuesday he'd make Tacos, and against their parents wishes let her stay up with him to do anything she wanted "Sure." Thea smiled causing Nathan to grin in return

Nathan and Thea would eat, and watch movies starting off with the Twilight thing Tommy mentioned a week ago, it started off good but when Edward began to sparkle he turned it off, and switched movies much to Thea's amusement, the two would stay up till 2am till Thea fell asleep he and carried her to her bed and tucked her in.

Docks

Martin, was in his office, alone when an Chinese woman wearing a red dress, with white hair walked in "Thank you for coming." he said.

"Anything for a friend." the woman replied.

"We're not friends. You smuggle drugs. I let you use my port." Martin grunted.

"For which you are paid a lot of money." the woman pointed out.

"I don't get paid enough to have arrows shot at me by hood wearing lunatics with demon eyes!" Martin shouted unaware of the woman tensing up at what he said "You need to take this guy seriously. He's a bigger threat than Nocenti ever was."

"Except, now it's Nocenti's daughter who's the problem. Unlike your friend in the hood, we know where to find her." the woman replied.

"Don't be an idiot. Take out Emily Nocenti and Lance will never let this go. She won't stop until she burns you, me and the entire triad to the ground." Martin retorted.

"Then we kill Ms. Lance." the woman smirked before she turned around and left.

Next Day

Queen Manor

Nathan stood in his room, wearing dark blue jeans and brown boots, about to change his shirt, when he paused as a news report for Martin came on "Attorney for shipping magnate Martin Somers confirmed his client has no intention of testifying, maintaining innocence in the death of Victor Nocenti. Nocenti's body was found four weeks ago. We'll keep you updated as information becomes available."

Nathan scoffed and began to put on his grey long-sleeved Henley when he heard "Wait, how did you get those?"

"Don't you knock?" Nathan said putting his shirt on and his brown leather jacket on, as Thea walked over, and turned him to face her and lifted his shirt to see the faded scars on his body.

"Mom said that there weren't any scars."

"Because I told her not to say anything." Nathan said looking down at Thea who looked at the faded scars on his body.

"Nathan, what happened to you out there?" Thea asked looking up at him, as he put his shirt down.

"I'm not ready to talk about it, Thea. Just give me some time, okay?" Nathan asked.

"I wanna show you something out back." Thea said causing Nathan to raise an eyebrow and follow her out.

Backyard

Nathan and Thea walked over to 3 large tombstones, as Thea began to speak "Sometimes when I felt whatever. I'd come here. About a month after the funerals, Morn stopped going out. Pretty soon she stopped talking altogether. The house got so quiet. So I'd come here. To talk to you, Ollie, and Dad. Stupid stuff. Like what I was doing that day what boy I had a crush on. And then sometimes, I'd ask you, beg you, to find your way home to me. Now here you are. I see glimpses of the old you, but you can't keep shutting me out, whenever I get too close." Thea said looking at Nathan who frowned "Look, I know it was hell where you were. But it was hell here too. You gotta let me in, Nathan. You gotta let someone in."

Nathan looked from Thea to the tombstone as she walked away.

Laurel's Apartment

Laurel was in her living room, working like usual, and eating a TV dinner, when there was knocking at her door, causing her to look up and hesitantly walk to the door before she looked through her peephole and sighed before she opened her door to see Nathan standing there.

"Hi, are you okay? There are two cop cars outside." Nathan said.

"Didn't you tell me to stay away from you?" Laurel asked.

"Yea...I,"

"What're you doing here Nathan?" Laurel asked.

"Getting reacquainted with everyone has been harder then I thought, and my sister said I need to let someone in." Nathan said

"And you choose me?" Laurel asked

"Well you were the first to offer. And despite what I said, I really don't know how to stay away. Nor, do I want to." Nathan sincerely said, causing Laurel to scoff, before she stepped out of the way to allow Nathan into her home.

Walking in, Nathan smiled as he looked around "Wow, this place hasn't changed at all." he said before he saw a large fox plushy on the couch, and picked it up, before he turned to Laurel with a raised eyebrow "You still have this?"

"What's in the bag?" Laurel asked snatching the fox from him.

"Something I 've wanted to do with you since I came back." Nathan said opening the bag and pulling out a tub of cookies and cream ice cream causing Laurel to smile, "Eat ice cream".

30 Minutes Later

Nathan sat on the floor while Laurel sat on the couch, both eating ice cream, with Nathan telling her about how everyone wants him to be the same person he was when he left "I mean, I know that I was dead for 5 years, but I can't be the same exact Nathan that I was when I left."

"You've been through a lot." Laurel said, remembering from the hearing how Nathan explained what happened when the boat went down and how he got to the island.

"I know. Everyone keeps asking me what happened on the island, or analyzing every little thing that I do. Hell, my mom told me today that she wanted me to take control of the company."

"You can tell her no." Laurel said.

"Oh, I already did. I get the feeling that the subject will be coming back up soon." Nathan sighed leaning his head back on Laurel's extended leg.

"It'll be okay." Laurel said only for Nathan to scoff "Trust me, I have plenty of experience with disapproving parents."

"I'm on the receiving end of your father's disapproval." Nathan replied looking at her.

"He blames himself more than he blames you." Laurel said causing Nathan to blink "He thinks that, you know, maybe if he and Sara were closer she would have told him about the boat trip. And he could have stopped her from going with Oliver."

"I am sorry."

"You apologized enough already, even though you have nothing to be sorry for." Laurel said shaking her head "Sure Sara and I met you first, but it was my mistake of falling for Oliver, even when I knew how he was. You should forgive him."

Nathan looked at Laurel with a raised eyebrow "Can you?"

"He wasn't my brother." Laurel replied.

"No, he was your boyfriend. The one person who was never meant to hurt you. Yet his actions cost you the life of your sister. Even if the trip had of gone smoothly, things between you and Sara never would've been the same." Nathan said shaking his head "The both of you deserved better."

"I think I understand why she did it." Laurel said causing Nathan to look at her with a raised eyebrow "When we were kids, Sara, and I wanted to be with you, but you were so dense back then, you couldn't tell."

Nathan's eyebrow twitched as Laurel laughed softly "We got into this big fight over you, and my mom told me that to really love someone is to want them to be happy even if it isn't with you. That's why I decided to date Ollie."

"I still hung out with Sara, while I continued to pine after you, til she gave up on me." Nathan groaned.

"Or she did it to make you jealous." Laurel said as Nathan put his head down "She knew that we were sleeping together, and I think that her, going with Ollie was her form of revenge."

"So it is my fault." Nathan sighed.

"No, it's not. If we had just been upfront with you from the beginning, Sara would've never got on that boat." Laurel said.

Nathan nodded, before he paused and sat up "Did you hear that?" he asked.

"What?" Laurel asked as Nathan stood up.

"There's someone on the fire escape." Nathan said pulling his Gerber Mark II Combat Knife out of the holster in his boot and walking around the table and grabbing her arm.

"Wh-what?" she asked.

"Hey, come on." Nathan said taking her with him toward the door just as a man burst through it, causing Laurel to gasp, before Nathan lead her to her restroom. "Stay down," he said, just as the man got up and started firing his Uzi at them, making it to the bedroom a man burst through the window and he immediately lead her back out.

But paused when a familiar white haired woman stood in their way with two hook knives in hand, smirking at him, hearing a gun cock Nathan turned back to see the man from the bedroom aiming at him and Laurel, about to fire, just as 2 bullets struck him as Diggle ran in, while the white haired woman ran around as Diggle killed her other partner, and sliced his hand causing him to drop the gun, and the two began to fight with Diggle trying to disarm her but tossed a knife at Laurel causing Nathan to push her away the blade grazing his shoulder.

Nathan looked back to Diggle to see him on his back about to be ran through, and tossed his Gerber at the woman, causing her blade to be knocked out of her hand before she ran off, while Laurel ran into his arms clutching him tightly.

Doggie stood up grabbing his gun, when he looked at them "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm okay." Nathan said.

"Are you hurt, Mr. Queen?" Diggle asked.

"No." Nathan repeated.

"This is why it's a good idea to have a bodyguard." Diggle said before he went to look around for any other intruders.

"Hey, you okay?" Nathan asked Laurel who nodded.

Minutes Later

Nathan, and Diggle were in the living room as police took pictures, and detectives took their statements, before Quentin came in "Daddy." Laurel said hugging her dad.

"Thank God. Thank God. Are you all right?" Quentin asked worried.

"I'm okay." Laurel said pulling away and looking at him "Those cops that you put on me."

"They-" Quentin struggled but couldn't speak, so he shakes his head.

"I went outside to ask for a light and they were both dead in the squad car." Diggle said causing Laurel to cover her mouth in horror.

"It's all right, honey. It's okay." Quentin said walking over to Diggle "Mr. Diggle, thank you. You feel free to run as many red lights as you want."

"I was doing my job, sir." Diggle nodded shaking the man's hand.

"No, your job is protecting him." Quentin said glaring at a frowning Nathan and walked over "It seems like whenever you're with one of my daughters, people die. You stay away from Laurel, or the next time you disappear, it'll be permanent."

"Dad." Laurel said.

"No, Laurel." Quentin said still glaring at Nathan.

"With all due respect, Quentin. If Laurel doesn't want me around, that is her decision, and until she tells me to stay away, I will always be there for her." Nathan said before he began to walk away placing a hand on Laurel's shoulder as he went while Diggle followed and Quentin glared.

Unseen by anyone, Nathan turned off a device in his pocket.

Later

Docks

Six guards were posted around all with semiautomatic machine guns, as Nathan in his Arrow uniform stood on a shipping container, and his tactical katana drawn and his Kyuubi eyes glowed in blood lust, Nathan began to walk toward the closest guard.

Martin was in his office, getting his money, and all his important documents together while a guard stood there watching him "That triad bitch screwed up the hit on Lance. Now the triad is gonna erase every ounce of evidence of their smuggling operation. Including me. Except that's not gonna happen." Martin said before he looked to the guard "Tell Wallace to get the boat ready. I'm leaving tonight."

Outside

A guard was standing ready, when Nathan appeared behind him, and snapped his neck, about to proceed to his next victim he paused when "Wallace? Wallace, you copy?" turning around Nathan walked to the body and found a walkie-talkie and picked it up "Wallace?"

" **I told you. There wouldn't be a second warning**." Nathan said tossing the walkie behind him and continue on his way.

"Hey, whose that?!" a guard yelled up seeing Nathan standing there looking down at him and the others.

"Kill em!" another guard yelled before gunfire rang out, as Nathan shot forward, and blood flew while screams of pain followed.

Taking the katana from the last guards chest, Nathan looked down to see Martin running for his life " **SOMERS**!" Nathan yelled, rushing after him.

With Martin

Martin ran for his life, toward his boat, and glanced back to see Nathan walking after him which made him scream in fear, before a black and red arrow pierced his left knee, sending him to the ground with a shout of pain "Oh, God, no, no, no."

" **God can't help you."** Nathan said unsheathing his tactical katana " **So help yourself. I want the truth about Victor Nocenti."**

"I can't. The triad will kill me." Martin sobbed pathetically and screamed in pain when Nathan broke his right elbow.

" **I'm going to kill you if you don't do what I tell you."** Nathan growled

"All right, all right. It wasn't me that killed him. It was the triad." Martin replied

"A **cting on whose instructions?"** Nathan asked only for Martin to remain silent before he screamed in pain when Nathan slowly drew his blade across Martin's other cheek. " **Whose!?** "

"All right, all right. It was mine. It was mine, all right? Nocenti said he was gonna testify against me." Martin said before Nathan pulled him up and looked into his eyes. **"This is for going after Laurel Lance."** He said harshly before turning Martin around, and with a precise and harsh strike, broke Martin's lower spine, paralyzing him from waist down, causing him to shriek in agony as he dropped to the ground. **(1)**

Nathan looked over his shoulder when he noticed presence to see the white haired woman.

" _Get away from him, Arrow._ " she said in Chinese.

 _"_ _ **Or you'll do what, China White**_ _?"_ Nathan asked before the woman swung her hook knife at him, and he leaned back and began to block he'd swings, and ducked under her roundhouse, and swept her leg from under her, before he was on top of her with his hand around her throat.

" _So now what? Are you going to kill me_? " the woman asked.

 _"_ _ **As if.**_ _"_ Nathan answered back in Mandarin, causing the woman to smirk before she pulled down his mask, and looked at his face which had black hair as opposed to his usual blonde, kyuubi eyes, his teeth were fangs, and he had thick pronounced whisker marks. All in all, his appearance was dissimilar enough that nobody could tell his real identity. China White smirked before she kissed him lustfully and he pulled away just as sirens sounded off _"_ _ **Get out of here**_ _."_

Nathan took his mask, and placed it back on, and she ran just as police entered and he vanished as well, while Martin, whose broken form was on the ground and had attempted to crawl away, was apprehended.

Nathan was headed toward the exit, when Quentin appeared in his way and aimed his gun at his head. The gun was about 6 inches from Nathan's face. "You so much as twitch, and your dead." Quentin said before he smirked "I got you."

"You sure about that?"

Quentin's eyes widened when he was suddenly disarmed and thrown onto his back with the same Krav Maga gun disarm move the Slade had once taught and used on Nathan. Quentin's gun was now pointed at his forehead, causing him to close his eyes and wait for death.

 _"Oh, God, no, no, no."_ Quentin heard a few moments later, causing him to open eyes to see an arrow with a voice recorder embedded in the pavement and his gun was right next to him, though it was missing the clip.

 _"_ _ **God can't help you."**_ _Nathan said unsheathing his tactical katana "_ _ **So help yourself, I want the truth about Victor Nocenti."**_

 _"I can't. The triad will kill me." Martin sobbed pathetically and screamed in pain when Nathan broke his right elbow._

 _"_ _ **I'm going to kill you if you don't do what I tell you."**_ _Nathan growled_

 _"All right, all right. It wasn't me that killed him. It was the triad." Martin replied_

 _"_ _ **A**_ _ **cting on whose instructions?"**_ _Nathan asked only for Martin to remain silent before he screamed in pain when Nathan slowly drew his blade across Martin's other cheek. "_ _ **Whose!?**_ _"_

' _All right, all right. It was mine. It was mine, all right? Nocenti said he was gonna testify against me.'_

"Son of a bitch." Quentin said standing up and looking around just as more cops and squad cars arrived.

Later

The unveiling of the new building went off without any problems,, without Nathan embarrassing his family or himself, he announced the foundations that would be unveiling and spoke to Laurel and Tommy for a bit before leaving.

 **Finished**

 **While some of Nathan's history will be different than Oliver's, most of it(S1-3) will mostly be the same. What I think Shawn failed to realize is that Lian Yu is critical for S2, because without that and Ollie's relationship with Shado and Slade, S2 of Arrow couldn't have happened.**

 **As you can see, Nathan has connections to both the Triad and Bratva.**

 **1: There is a reason for his enhanced strength, and will be explained later.**

 **SO, who do y'all want in the harem? Put some suggestion in the reviews.**

 **Also, I'm debating having Diggle join up with Nathan, or have Lyla join him until she needs to take over Argus. Give me some sugestions, y'all.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Lone Gunmen

**Chapter 3 – Lone Gunmen**

3 Days Later

Everything had been going slowly in Starling, the only thing noteworthy was that Diggle had quit, having gotten tired of sitting outside as Nathan went into the homes of models and actresses, and had sex with them. Nathan was not all that broken up about it, since he didn't want some glorified babysitter anyway, but if he knew his mother then she'd have a replacement soon.

Currently Nathan was making short work of security guards who were hired by millionaire James Holder, whose corporation put defective smoke detectors in low-income housing in the Glades, which caused a lot of people to die.

Currently, the man was on his balcony by his pool on the phone "Other than the bill I got handed by my legal team I'm feeling pretty good...Now that this lawsuit's been settled we can focus our attention on Unidac Industries...Okay, I'll see you in the office first thing."

James went to sip his beer, but a shuriken sliced cleanly through the bottle causing the bottom to fall to the ground and shatter.

Looking up James saw the vigilante that's been terrorizing some of his associates standing there looking at him "I have armed security inside. All I have to do is call out."

" **Go ahead. They can't hear you.** " Nathan said dropping three blood stained glocks.

"What the hell do you want?" James asked looking around to find an escape route.

" **The courts say you don't owe your victims anything. I disagree.** " Nathan said walking forward before he noticed a red dot on Holder's chest before he was shot and killed, while Nathan rolled away to cover, but not before a bullet lodged itself in his shoulder.

On a rooftop across the way, the sniper looked on with interest as he saw the black hooded archer disappeared.

The Arrow Lair

Nathan was back at his lair, currently in a pair of black jeans, dark brown biker boots, dark brown belt , and shirtless, showing off his muscular body. He looked at his shoulder with his Kyuubi Eyes where he was shot, seeing the poisoned blood be forced out of his body and the bullet slowly work itself out of his shoulder. Nathan pulled up a vial to collect his poisoned blood and after collecting enough, put a stopper on it. He placed the vial in a rack. With a grunt, he put his fingers around the bullet and pulled it out, the wound fully healing a second later.

Nathan placed the bullet in a metal tray and cleaned the blood off his shoulder. Nathan poured the blood into a centrifuge, and turned it on to separate the poison from his blood. _"I shouldn't be surprised that James Holder had made more than one enemy.'_ Nathan picked up the bullet he had pulled put of his shoulder. ' _But whoever killed him now has my interest. There are only a few hitman in the world that lace their bullets with poison. I'm gonna need to figure out who I'm dealing with.'_

Nathan stood up and closed his eyes, concentrating as a red aura covered his form. A minute later, his form split in half, to reveal 2 Nathans. The original panted heavily and hunched over to catch his breath. Making a clone can be a real pain in the butt.

Queen Manor

Nathan left the foundry, while his clone figured out that the bullet was a 7.62 mm round laced with Curare, and hopped into bed and dozed off in no time.

Morning

Nathan walked into the foyer to see Thea sitting on the couch while Moira, and Walter talked to the police "Thank you, officers. My wife and I appreciate it. I'll see you out." Walter said leading the cops away.

"Thank you." Moira said to the cops who nodded and left before she looked to Thea who didn't look bothered "Last time it was public intoxication. This time breaking and entering. My, how we are moving up in the criminal world."

Thea stood up smirking "When you pay off the store owner you should check out the merchandise. They got some pretty killer outfits."

"Thea, go get ready for school." Moira said annoyed.

"Uh, you know, I was thinking of taking a sick day." Thea replied.

"Fine, then get some sleep." Moira relented causing Thea to nod and walk off before she made eye contact with Nathan.

"Good morning." Thea smirked walking off as Nathan looked to Moira.

"Seriously, mom?" Nathan asked.

"When your sister gets like this, it's best to give her her space."

"Mom, you and dad, let me and Oliver get away with murder and assault, and look how we both turned out. Thea doesn't need space, she needs a mother." Nathan said causing Moira to look at him before she cleared her throat and changed the subject as a woman walked in behind Nathan.

"Right, Nathan I'd like you to meet Mr. Diggle's replacement, Ms. Lyla Michaels"

Nathan turned around to see a familiar woman who he had the pleasure of meeting before, looking at him with a small smirk "Hello." she greeted

Nathan smiled fakely and shook her hand "Nice to meet you." he said before he motioned to the exit "Walk with me."

Lyla nodded and followed Nathan upstairs and as soon as they were out of sight, he grabbed her by her throat and slammed her into the wall "What the hell do you think you're doing here?" he hissed.

"You really don't waste time do you?" Lyla asked smiling.

"Enough games Lyla. I told Amanda to stay the hell away from me after Lian Yu and China." Nathan growled.

"Which is why I'm here. You're still a high level threat, she just wants to make sure you don't hurt innocent people." Lyla said.

"And she sends her most loyal agent to accomplish this?" Nathan asked.

"She thought you'd be more at ease with someone you already know." Lyla said as Nathan gave her a long hard searching look before he released her.

"What happened to your ex-husband?" Nathan asked.

"He was drafted into A.R.G.U.S. He has a set of talents that can be useful in field ops." Lyla said causing Nathan to nod.

"So where are we headed to first Mr. Queen?" Lyla asked.

"Nowhere at the moment. Still looking into something." Nathan said before he decided to take a shower.

James Holder's Place

SCPD were canvassing the homicide scene, while Quentin watched with a frown "It doesn't make sense." he said shaking his head.

"Holder fits the profile. Wealthy dirtbag. Red meat for the Hood, plus we recovered one ninja star." his partner Lucas said.

"Yeah, but this time cause of death is a double tap through the heart and our perp doesn't use firearms." Quentin said.

"Maybe he's figured out there's easier ways to kill people than with a ninja stars and a sword. And it's like you said, the guy's a whack job." Lucas shrugged.

Queen Foundry

Nathan, Lyla, and Tommy walked into the foundry, and began looking around "What do you think? Great spot for a nightclub or what?" Nathan asked.

"Sweet, but if you're thinking calling it Queens, I don't think you're gonna get the clientele you were hoping for." Tommy said causing Nathan to smirk.

"Private office." Nathan pointed visualizing his new project.

"For the private one-on-one meetings, I would imagine." Tommy asked jokingly.

"Plus, the occasional two-on-one meeting. And the rare 3 on 1 meetings." Nathan nodded causing Tommy to laugh.

"Man, are you sure you wanna do this?" Tommy asked.

"Positive. I always did like making my own money." Nathan said.

"Fair point. So how about tomorrow night, the two of us go and scope out the competition. There's a new club opening downtown. It's called Poison. Max Fuller owns it."

Nathan raised an eyebrow "Max Fuller." he said getting a nod from Tommy "You do remember exactly what happened between us right?"

"Come on man who stays mad at a castaway?" Tommy asked.

"The castaway that slept with his mother, and fiancee. At the same time." Nathan replied.

"Aw, I'm sure he'd over it by now." Tommy said causing Nathan to raise an eyebrow as Tommy checked his phone "Oh man, I gotta roll. See you later, man."

"I'm surprised your hanging with him, after he slept with Laurel." Lyla said when Tommy was gone.

"That has nothing to do with me." Nathan shrugged before he turned to Lyla "So what do you think?"

"I think it'll be a good cover, for what you're really doing at night, even though you don't need one, seeing as you can clone yourself." Lyla shrugged.

"This place, will draw lots of people in to be my alibi, instead of just my body guard and family. It's only a matter of time before Quentin gets suspicious about my returning and a vigilante just up and appearing, with me being the first to see him." Nathan said causing Lyla to nod in understanding, as Nathan made a note to do something about that the vigilante and Nathaniel Queen should never be in the same conversation.

"You know what happens, if you go down right? Amanda will immediately try to get you to join A.R.G.U.S. You're the only person who has ever been able to fully adapt to the Mirakuru without any negative side effects, which makes you the perfect asset, in her mind."

"So perfect that she ordered you and some of the other female A.R.G.U.S. agents to go to extreme lengths to try to get my DNA." Nathan said.

"Unsuccessfully, but you can admit, it was fun." Lyla said smirking at Nathan who scoffed smiling before the two walked away.

Next Day

SCPD

Quentin was looking over the time line for Fox, when Lucas walked in "Got ballistics back on the Holder murder. They pulled two 7.62 millimeter bullets out of him. According to stippling and size of the entry wound they estimate shots were fired from 100 yards away."

"A hundred yards? So the hood shoots him from another building goes over to his place, he takes out his security, then fires a few arrows?" Quentin asked skeptically.

"And according to his tox screen, his blood contained strychnos toxifera." Lucas nodded.

"What?" Quentin asked raising an eyebrow.

"Curare. It's a kind of poison."

"Oh. Okay, so now we switch from arrows and ninja weapons to sniper bullets and poison. I'm not buying it." Quentin said shaking his head as he stood up and began to leave.

"We still found ninja stars on the scene. Solid evidence the hood was there." Lucas said, watching as Quentin walked off "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get my own evidence." Quentin said leaving causing Luca to sigh, and take a seat.

With Nathan's Clone

The clone looked around as he in the Arrow costume, and entered a large Asian style mansion. He snuck past the armed men and entered a large room to find who he was looking for and Nathan focused on the beautiful white haired woman "Hello Chien, it's been awhile."

"Arrow, I hear you've been keeping yourself busy in Starling City since we ran into each other." China White said playfully, hiding what she was really thinking.

"Yes, and what a pleasant encounter that was. I heard you had been made 'Dragon's Head' of the Starling branch. Congrats by the way."

"It not really official yet. Zhishan is still helping me with the transition."

Nathan nodded "Are you busy?"

"For my favorite partner? Never. What do you need?" China White asked.

"Last night, a target of mine was shot and killed, the sniper left this behind." Nathan said tossing the bullet over to China White, who looked it over "It's laced with Curare, the man who uses it goes by the name Deadshot. I know the Triad has used his services before. I just need to know where he lays his head at night."

"Consider it done. But I will be expecting a favor in return. After all, I don't do anything for free." China White said before Nathan smiled and snuck out.

Next Day

Queen Manor

Walter, and Moira were meeting with Quentin, while Lyla stood in the doorway "It's a great loss. Carl was a titan." Walter said.

"A titan who was looking to buy out a company called Unidac Industries?" Lucas asked standing by Quentin.

"Well, industries are something of a misnomer. Ul's recent activity was actually looking into alternative energy." Walter said.

"The point my partner is trying to make is that Rasmussen was the second bidder this week to lose his life." Quentin said.

"Are you implying something, detective?" Moira asked.

"Well, only that your husband's looking into buying Unidac Industries, and the competition seems to be dropping like flies." Quentin said

"And I'm sure your veiled accusation has nothing to do with how you feel about my family." Moira replied only for Quentin to huff

"Unidac's in receivership, detective." Walter said getting Quentin's attention "Ownership is subject to a liquidation auction so that means there are many prospective buyers. And the auction's tomorrow so if I was taking out the competition I have a lot of killing to do in a very short amount of time."

"We're just making rounds with interested buyers. Let them know to be careful." Lucas said

"Oh, yes. And I'm overwhelmed that Detective Lance is concerned for our safety." Moira said sarcastically causing Quentin's frown to deepen.

"Well, thank you for your concern, gentlemen. Our security consultant, Ms. Michaels is taking all the necessary precautions." Walter said.

"Yeah. Right. Well, if you need us we're just a 911 call away." Quentin said getting up and walking off with his partner.

Later

Poison

Nathan, Lyla, and Tommy walked into the club, "Oh, my, this is gonna be killer." Tommy said.

"If Max Fuller sees me here, I agree." Nathan sighed.

"Aw, if you wanna run a business, you gotta take a few risks." Tommy said.

Laurel was at the bar watching her friend who was dancing, when she saw Tommy, and Nathan walk up "Oh, wow. Doesn't you going out and having fun violate some kind of law like the ones that are carved on a stone tablet." Tommy said.

"That's cute, Tommy." Laurel said as Nathan ordered a drink.

"Thanks." Tommy smiled.

"I can see you two are up to your old hunting patterns." Laurel said.

"Actually, this is strictly for business." Nathan said.

"Really?" Laurel asked.

"Sure is, Merlyn thought why not scope out the competition. Although I get the feeling when Max Fuller sees me I'll be out of here very quickly." Nathan said.

"Well, well, look at this. Nathan Queen." he heard and turned to the owner.

"Max Fuller. How you been?"

"Happy you drowned." Max glared, before he smirked and looked to Tommy, and Laurel "I see nothing has changed. You were forced to watch Laurel, and Oliver together now your brother's girl has moved on to your best friend."

Laurel's, and Tommy's eyes widened "Look man, I-"

"You're a grown man Tommy." Nathan interrupted looking to Tommy "If, you and Laurel want to be together that isn't any of my business." he said before he looked to Max "So Max, how's your mom, and fiancée?"

"Son of a bit-" Max had immediately threw a punch at Nathan who moved and grabbed his arm before throwing him over the bar into the bottles of liquor on the shelves.

"Oh!" Laurel yelled, as everyone turned to see Nathan get rushed by the two security guards who punched him in the stomach, and grabbed him by his neck before Lyla showed up, and kicked the guy with Nathan's neck in his grip in the nuts and slammed his head on the bar, knocking him out, before she tazed the other man.

"Thanks.' Nathan smirked as he rolled his neck.

"Just doing my job sir." Lyla said as Nathan nodded and looked to Laurel and Tommy.

"I think that's enough excitement for one night." Nathan said turning and leaving before Tommy, and Laurel caught up with him outside.

"Nathan, wait!" Laurel called causing Nathan to stop, and look at her and Tommy.

"Look man, what happened between us-,"

"Is none of my business." Nathan interrupted Tommy, "Look, we're all adults here. What happens between you both, is between you both. Have a good night."

Nathan turned and got into his car, before Lyla pulled off leaving the two to watch after him.

With Nathan

Nathan's phone buzzed, causing him to sigh, as he answered "Yeah?"

"I got your information. His name is Floyd Lawton. I have the address, for where he stayed last time he was in Starling City. But that is all." China White said.

"Let's hope he's a creature of habit."

"His address is 1700 Broadway, Pape Motel, Room 52."

"Thank you. I will repay that favor once I've dealt with him." Nathan said.

"Going hunting?" Lyla asked as Nathan hung up.

"Seems that way." Nathan said.

Pape Motel

Floyd Lawton sat at his laptop looking at blueprints, with his TV on mute, cracking his neck, as it was getting to stiff, he suddenly paused and his eyes widened before he ducked as a kunai cut a few hairs from his head, before he threw his arm up, and his wrist turrets opened fire at Nathan who, who ducked behind cover and began firing arrows at Lawton.

Lawton, seeing that his bullets weren't hitting their target, reached under his bed, as he kept firing, and rolled a grenade to Nathan who looked down as Lawton smirked holding the pin before he jumped out of the window.

Boom

Panic ensued when the motel room exploded, while on a rooftop on the building next to it, Nathan stood perfectly still, before he looked down to the bullet riddled laptop, and jumped across the rooftops, as sirens cut through the air.

Next Morning

Queen Consolidated

Nathan walked into the IT department with the laptop, and stopped at the desk of the IT girl he had winked at a few days ago, "Felicity Smoak?" he asked getting her attention "Hi. I'm Nathan Queen."

"Of course. I know who you are, you're Mr. Queen." Felicity said.

"No, Mr. Queen was my father." Nathan replied.

"Right, but he's dead. I mean, he drowned." Felicity said causing Nathan to raise an eyebrow "You didn't, which means you could come down to the IT Department and listen to me babble." Felicity blushed as she carried on while Nathan smiled "Which will end. In three, two, one."

"I was wondering if you could salvage anything from this laptop I found." Nathan said handing her the laptop.

"Um, are these bullet holes?" Felicity asked.

"Mm-hm. I'm interested in who the owner was, and what kind of trouble he was planning on getting into." Nathan said.

"Um..sure." Felicity said causing Nathan to nod.

Queen Manor

Thea was in her room, on her bed texting her friends, when Moira walked in carrying two dresses before she stopped in surprise seeing Thea "Wow. Well, good, you're here."

"I'm under house arrest, remember." Thea said still texting.

"Do you wanna wear the Calvin Klein or the Zac Posen?" Moira asked holding up the dresses, causing Thea to look at her in confusion.

"To dinner?" Thea asked with a raised eyebrow "I was just gonna wear pajamas."

"To Walter's stock auction." Moira said.

"I think I rather be grounded." Thea replied.

"No, it's important that you come.' Moira said only for Thea to roll her eyes.

"Important to whom?" Thea asked going back to texting.

"To me." Moira said looking at her daughter who scoffed, before she put town the dresses and walked over to Thea and placed a hand on her knee as she sat on the bed "All right, listen to me." she said causing Thea to look up at her.

"When you were 4 years old, you came home one day with a cat. It was a stray, it was filthy and it was mean. But you stood there and you declared that it was coming to live with us. Your father came home from the office and he saw what was going on and he sat you down and he explained to you that the cat was in fact a tiger and that we needed to get it home. And somehow you understood. Robert was always so good at getting through to you, and I...I was always so jealous of that."

"You never talk about him." Thea said as Moira wiped her tear filled eyes "Dad. That's the first time you talked about him in years."

"Well, I think you and I have gotten into some bad habits. There's been a lot that has changed recently, Thea and I think that maybe this can change too." Moira smiled softly before she got up and walked away.

Queen Consolidated

Nathan was with Felicity who was scrolling through blueprints "It looks like blueprints." Felicity noted.

"Do you know what of?" Nathan asked.

"The Exchange Building." Felicity said.

"Never heard of it." Nathan replied.

"It's where the Unidac Industries auction is scheduled to take place." Felicity said before she looked to Nathan "Whose laptop is this again?"

"Why you ask?" Nathan asked.

"Mr. Steele is trying to buy Unidac Industries. And you've got a company laptop associated with one of guys he's competing against."

"Floyd Lawton." Nathan said.

"No. Warren Patel. Who's Floyd Lawton?"

"He is an employee of Mr. Patel, evidently." Nathan sighed before he stood up "Thank you Ms. Smoak, I think I need to take a trip to SCPD."

"Um, sure. You need help with anything else, come on down. Not that I'm saying you need permission, since this is your company, I'm just saying."

"Your cute." Nathan smiled causing her to blush, as he took the laptop "See you next time." he said turning and leaving his smile turning into a frown.

 _'The Exchange Building is surrounded by three towers with eye lines into the building. Lawton can get his kill shot off from virtually anywhere. I only have one clone so I can't be reliant on him if Lawton got a shot off. I'll need some help."_

Later

SCPD

Quentin was walking to his car, when a hand reached from the shadows and grabbed him by his collar and slammed him up against the wall, with his feet hanging off the ground "You son of a bitch! You've got a pair on you, pulling this, outside a police station!"

" **Floyd Lawton's the one targeting the buyers interested in Unidac. Interpol calls him Deadshot because he never misses. You can look this up after I go**." Nathan said

"Yeah, and stop chasing you, I suppose?"

" **I don't care if you continue or quit. Your wasting your time, and energy not mine."** Nathan said. " **You will never catch me, Detective."** Nathan taunted before saying, **"Warren Patel hired Lawton. I can't be sure who they're targeting, might be the buyers and I can't protect them in a space that big. I need your help.** "

"Heh. Yeah? Professional help?" Quentin said frowning

" **Lawton laces his bullets with curare. Tell your men to wear Kevlar**." Nathan said.

"I'll them to shoot you-" Quentin was rendered silent when Nathan tossed him into his car where the laptop was placed on the hood, Quentin grabbed his gun and turned to see Nathan was gone, and began to look around.

The Exchange Building

Walter, and Moira stood in the lobby with the other buyers as Moira looked around "Well, it's quite a turnout." Moira said.

"Well, it's quite an opportunity, actually. But regardless of the outcome of the auction I'm already a winner because I have two beautiful women at my side tonight." Walter smiled.

"Two?" Moira asked raising an eyebrow, only for Walter to look up towards the door, following his line of sight she saw Thea walking over.

"Thanks for coming, Thea. It means a lot to your mother. And me." Walter smiled as Moira and Thea hugged before he looked over when his name was called.

"Mr. Steele, the auction will be opening in five minutes. Please make sure your bid is ready."

"Thank you, Gina." Walter smiled before he looked to Moira, and Thea "Shall we?"

When they nodded the trio walked off.

Nathan in Arrow uniform was on the roof, looking down at his family, he watched as the cops arrested Warren Patel, before his clone, who had taken his place at the event, walked in and mingled with the others, watching his Clone blend perfectly with everyone and not show a sign of anything being wrong.

Nathan blinked when a red dot appeared on Walter's chest, and quickly turned to the construction sight across the way, and rushed toward the source as a gunshot went off, causing him to stop and see that Quentin had tackled Walter before he could get hit, but Floyd continued to fire at the other buyers as his clone, was lead out along with his family by Lyla.

Nathan jumped off the roof and into the construction building, causing glass to shatter from the window before he rolled out of the way, when Floyd opened fire with his wrist turrets, behind a pillar, Nathan jumped to the rafters and watched as Floyd cautiously tried to find him.

" **Put your weapons down**." Nathan said

"I admire your work Arrow, who would've thought after you disappeared 6 moths ago, this is where you'd be hiding. Guess you won't be extending me any professional courtesy." Deadshot commented dryly.

" **We're not in the same line of work, your profession is murder**."

"You've taken lives." He pointed out.

" **In service to a greater cause. You're only looking to get paid.** " Nathan said, before he dropped behind Floyd who turned to shot him but shouted in pain, when Nathan slashed through his scope and his eye with his tactical katana, and stabbed him in the gut causing him to groan before he fell back as Nathan twirled his blade tossing the blood off of it, before he vanished into the night.

Later

Nathan, in civilian clothing, appeared back in the mansion of China White. He snuck in through the bedroom window. He found China was already waiting for him, wearing black silk robe and black lace underwear, which contrasted nicely with her white hair. "I take it the information I provided for you proved useful." Chien stated curtly. **(AN: Chien will wear her hair style from episode 15 for the rest of the story).**

"Yes, Deadshot has been neutralized, and Warren Patel will go to jail, so a job well done." Nathan said. "I do hope we can continue to work together. I kinda miss the old days, back when we were enforcers for the Hong Kong Triad."

"Then why did you leave?" Chien said, turning around. There was a sadness in her eyes. "You were the Dragon's Head of the Hong Kong Branch of the Triad. Under you, Triad rose to heights it had never seen, and then you vanished without trace. You left us. You left me."

"I'm sorry," Nathan said, slowly walking closer to her, "I know that I left when I should not have. I wanted to stay. I really did. But I swore and my father's grave that I would protect this city. This city is my home. It always will be, and I will protect it for as long as I can."

"But Chien," Nathan said, taking off his jacket and tossing it to the floor, "My desire to return to my home and protect it didn't change my feelings for you. I mean, sure back 2010, we were trying to kill each other, then we ended up working together when I joined the Triad, then we became lovers. I didn't stay with the Triad all that time because I actually liked what I was doing. I stayed solely because I knew how important it was to you."

Now, Nathan and Chien stood a few inches apart, "Because I loved you then. I never expected to fall in love with someone who tried to kill me, but I did, and I still love you now."

Chien stared into his eyes, her mind swimming with memories of many of the dark things the both of them had to do as enforcers for the Triad. Chien had been a cold killer at the time, who had not known what fun was since she was a child. As a child, Chien was abused by her parents for trying to have fun with her toys. However, her future mentor Zhishan rescued her, shooting her parents through the chest. This ultimately led to her being bullied for it. One day while at school, she broke, and stabbed a classmate with a pen. Shocked at what she had done, Chien took up the tutelage of the man who had killed her parents. Before this, however, she soaked her hair in hydrogen peroxide, turning her hair fully white, forever.

She had forgotten what fun was until Nathan came along. When they weren't on the job, he was taking her out on the town to have fun. At first it was just so they could get along. They had not gotten along at first, but she slowly warmed up to his confident, warm, fun-loving side that he only showed in private. This fun side of his allowed her to develop a truly meaningful and healthy relationship and help her develop interests and hobbies outside of the Triad. He helped her go from an cold heartless killer to being an actual person, and she fell for him.

But then he left, and she threw herself back into her work, suffering a relapse in her emotional development, especially when she transferred to the Starling Triad. She barely stopped herself from breaking down when she saw him a week ago, though she lost her restraint when she kissed him, and just earlier yesterday, and now having him in her room, was bringing all those old feeling's back to the surface. And hearing him tell her that he still loved her, caused her to abandon her restraint.

"I still love you too." Chien admitted before threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. Nathan returned the passionate kissing with equal fervor his arms wrapping around her waist.

They separated so Nathan could take off his shirt, and he slipped his hands inside her robe and unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the floor while her black silk robe was still on her. She immediately recaptured his lips before going down to his neck, and kissing down toward his waist.

Lemon Start

"First," Chien smiled as she sank down to her knees and quickly unfastened Nathan's belt, and pulled down his pant freeing Nathan's cock from his and wrapped her pouty full lips around the head. The lovely white haired woman's tongue darted out and began sucking his hardening member.

Chien's lips slid down the length of Nathan's member until the hardening head hit the back of her mouth, and she gagged a bit, as she looked up into her lover's eyes before she pushed further until his head was firmly lodged in her throat, causing Nathan to throw his head back and moaned in pleasure as Chien's nose pressed into his pubic hair.

The white haired female's tongue was rapidly working all over the underside of Nathan's cock, Chien gripped the firm muscled butt belonging to her favorite male as his hands rested gently combed through her white hair, urging her onward. The woman pulled back and swirled her tongue around the sensitive head before sliding her lips back down the vigilante's shaft. Chien's head began bobbing on the Nathan's shaft and repeatedly taking the entire 10 inch long, 3.5 inch wide cock down her throat, choking, and spitting as she did so,

Nathan, kicked off his jeans from his ankles, while Chien slipped out of her panties and robe and began fingering herself, as Nathan looked down and stared into Chien's eyes as her cheeks bulged and caved with her pleasuring his member, and twitched when her teeth lightly grazed over his length in a playful nip.

Chien, began to speed up, as she squeezed Nathan's nuts, and heard him mutter how he was getting close. Nathan expected Chien to release him but to his surprise, she just took him deeper and swallowed down his healthy load.

"Mmmm," Chien moaned as she backed away from Nathan when he finished cumming down her throat.

Nathan smiled before he leaned down and picked his lover up by her butt, and immediately Chien wrapped her legs around her lover as he slipped his already recovered rod into her warm tight cunt. Chien gasped in pleasure at the superhuman's penetration of her core, feeling complete for the first time in 10 months as his massive tool stretched her pussy to it's limits.

Upon fully burying himself inside Chien, Nathan gripped her ass, as he kissed her lips before he laid her on the bed, and pulled out before slamming back into her, repeatedly and soon the couple's skin made slapping sounds as the superhuman sawed his cock in and out of his lover, as they looked each other in the eye.

Chien smiled before she captured Nathan's lips in a searing kiss as she thrust her pelvis back up at him, as Nathan began putting more power in his thrust, alternating speeds until she began having a powerful shaking orgasm while screaming his name. Chien's pussy convulsed and soaked the muscular male's dick with her juices as he continued to pump her nether regions through her climax, as she gripped onto him tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Nathan didn't stop after Chien came, while Chien moaned in his ear, before she began nibbling on his neck and ear, before he sat back and turned her over onto her hands and knees without ever dislodging her from her. Nathan continued hammering away, as he leant over and licked the sweat off his woman's back, sampling her wonderful taste, as he kissed up to the back of her neck, while his hands fell on top of hers and their fingers intertwined,

Chien threw her tight ass back at Nathan, as the slapping sound of the couple's flesh was quite loud by this time. Chien moaned deeply as her toned round butt cheeks met Nathan's pelvis, as she began screaming as Nathan stayed hunched down over her while he speared his might sword into her sheath and bit down on her shoulder, not breaking the skin. The intense and familiar pleasure sent the woman over the edge, as her pussy tightened and convulsed around Nathan's member who grunted and moaned, as he blew his load into Chien's womb.

Chien panted as she turned onto her side, as Nathan remained over her, before she leaned up and kissed him "God, I have missed this." she panted, causing Nathan to smile.

"Glad, I can help you relax." Nathan said leaning down to capture Chien's lips again, "I know I screwed up when it came to our relationship, but I'm hoping that, if you'll let me, I can earn your forgiveness., Chien."

Chien responded by flipping Nathan onto back and sitting on top of him. "If you truly want to make it up to me, you can start by letting me drive this time." She said, as they continued to have sex throughout the night.

 **End Lemon**

 **Chapter done  
**

 **So, as you can see, Nathan has a different history than Oliver concerning the Triad. Him and Chien had a relationship when he was part of the Triad in China, and he helped her develop emotionally. The origin's of their relationships will get more detail in a later season.**

 **I have revealed the source of Naruto's super strength, since unfortunately, one of you already guessed it.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Taking Down Brodeur

**AN: So, the reason I put China in the Harem was cause…honestly, Kelly Hu is hot for a 49 year old woman, and it would be an interesting to develop the Triad member, to make her an actual person with interests, hobbies, and real relationships, instead of just being a typical Arrow-verse, one-dimensional villain that has been butchered by Marc Guggenheim.**

 **Chapter 4-Jason Brodeur**

Queen Manor

Laurel had immediately rushed over when she heard about the shooting, and after making sure that the Queen family was safe, she walked to the room of the one she was truly concerned about, and saw his door was open, and found him sitting on his bed, brooding.

"Nate", Laurel said. Nate looked up to see Laurel standing there in his doorway. He noticed the concern on her face and it touched him that she cared.

"Hey, Laurel," Nathan said, getting up, "What are ya doing here?"

"I heard about the shooting. I wanted to make sure you weren't hurt."

"Well, thanks for that." Nathan smiled sadly at her, "I wasn't sure you would."

"Why would you think that?" Laurel asked, a bit surprised by his revelation. Nate grew hesitant at her question, and seeing this, Laurel sat on his bed next to him, "Hey, it's okay, Nate. I promise, I won't judge you."

After a few more moments of hesitation, he looked at her, "Laurel, I spent 5 years on Lian Yu, that's the name of the island that I was on. I was alone over there. But the loneliness wasn't the worst thing that happened. I want to tell you about it. Out of everyone, I want to tell you, but I'm afraid that if I do, you'll-"

He hesitated again and Laurel said, "I'll…what, Nate?"

Finally, he relented, saying with a tortured look in his eyes, "That you'll look at me like I'm nothing more than damaged goods."

Laurel nodded as she placed her hand on Nathan's cheek and said to him, "Nate, I would never think that of you." There was a moment of silence between them before Nathan broke it.

"Listen about the other nig-mmhh!" Nathan began but was silenced when Laurel kissed him, unable to help herself, Nathan returned the kiss and brought her onto his lap, and squeezed her ass firmly, causing her to moan as she ran her hands through his hair, before he stood up and turned around tossing her down onto the bed, causing her to smile. As he crawled onto the bed, and the two began kissing, with light petting, and cuddled on the bed, before they dozed off.

Nathan awoke in the middle of the night to see that Laurel had left, causing him to sigh, before he stood up and walked downstairs to grab a snack, but paused when he saw Thea watching TV with a large bowl of chips, and decided to join her.

"There were no signs of forced entry or any evidence of a struggle but hours later, the police found the blood-stained kitchen knife - in the trunk of Peter Declan's car." the news report said

"Couldn't sleep either?" Thea asked as Nathan moved her feet, and sat down placing them in his lap

"No. What are you watching?" Nathan asked

"Peter Declan." Thea said getting a raised eyebrow from Nathan "Oh, a guy who killed his wife. This guy killed his wife in their baby's room. Psycho."

"Okay we were just shot at, not something I'm interested in at the moment." Nathan said taking the remote and turning to something called American Dad

"Hey! Give it back." Thea said as she tried to take the remote, but Nathan held it out of her reach before she found herself in his lap, struggling to get the remote back, as she leaned forward to take the remote before he chuckled and handed it back to her, causing her to get off of him and turned back to the news.

"Declan's execution is set for midnight two days from now. Camille Declan's former employer, Jason Brodeur released a statement saying, quote: "I hope this gives Camille the peace she deserves."

Nathan gained a dark look in his eyes, as Jason Brodeur was on the list, which meant he needed to look into this.

"So why can't you sleep?" Thea asked a blush still on her cheeks

"I can't sleep anymore." Nathan said, before looking at Thea's confused look, "Nightmares."

"About?" Thea asked.

"Laurel."

"So why don't you make a play? I mean, she did come over here just to make sure you didn't get shot."

"There are reasons." Nathan said.

"What are they? Besides Oliver sleeping with her sister and her sister dying and her father hating your guts,"

"Those are the top ones. Along with the fact Tommy is in love with her." Nathan said causing Thea to nod, before Nathan brought her closer to him and kissed her head "I know that it might not seem like it sometimes but I'm not the same person I used to be." he sighed laying his head onto of hers and she cuddled up to him.

"So show her. Be yourself. I mean, your new self." Thea said, causing Nathan to look thoughtful.

Morning

Foundry

Nathan was looking up all the info on the Declan case. How the husband, Peter, had no alibi, and all _'evidence'_ pointed to him killing his wife. Nathan didn't believe it for a second. Nathan knew that he was telling the truth, besides evidence could always be planted by the real killer. The man was going to need a good attorney.

With Laurel

Laurel had spent the day at work trying to focus on her case, but he mind kept going back to her visit with Nathan yesterday. When she had woke up, she felt exactly like she had the first the two of them had slept together. Safe, but then guilt was felt right after, seeing as Tommy had said he was going to try to be a man she deserved and it felt like she was stringing him along. Because while she felt something for Tommy, she wasn't sure what it was, and what she felt for Nathan had only grown stronger since he returned to Starling and lord knows what her dad would try if she started dating the last male Queen.

With a sigh she stood up and began to pack up her stuff while her friend Joanna walked over "So I take it there's absolutely no point in asking if you'd like to grab a drink."

"I can't. I have to go over transcripts for the Fernands case." Laurel said putting on her bag

"You know, if you go somewhere that's not work or your home your odds of meeting someone increase by a gazillion percent." Joanna said as Laurel began to walk toward the door.

"That's not true. I could still get mugged on the way home." Laurel replied looking back to her friend who smiled.

"In that case, I hope he's cute and single." Joanna retorted.

"Good night, Joanna." Laurel smiled leaving.

30 Minutes Later

Laurel arrived home, and tried to turn on the lights, and frowned when they wouldn't come on, so cautiously she walked deeper into her apartment into her living room at her desk, and reached into her bottom door and pulled out the gun her father gave her, and turned around to see in the hallway was the hooded vigilante.

" **Good Evening, Laurel** _._ " Nathan greeted.

"Don't move." Laurel ordered fear in her voice, and Nathan raised his hands showing that he didn't have a weapon in hand.

" **Relax, I'm not gonna hurt you.'** Nathan said advancing slowly.

"Stay back. My father is a cop. You are making a huge mistake." Laurel said as she watched the vigilante that he dad had been chasing.

" **I'm not the person you think I am, and I need your help. Peter Declan is gonna be executed in 48 hours. I have reason to believe that the man's innocent. Declan's wife was gonna blow the whistle on Brodeur. Brodeur had her murdered."** Nathan said now in front of Laurel whose gun was now pressed up against his chest.

"There are a thousand lawyers in Starling City. Why me?" Laurel asked.

 **"We're both trying to help."** Nathan said.

"What makes you so sure I'm gonna help you?"

 **"Because I know you'd do anything to save the life of an innocent man."** Nathan said as he walked around her toward the exit, but paused before he looked at her **"Next time when there is an intruder, do not hesitate to pull the trigger."**

Laurel turned to look at the vigilante only to see him gone.

Next Day

Iron Heights Prison

Laurel was in a room with Peter Declan who was looking at a photo of his daughter "Ajury has found you guilty, Mr. Declan." Laurel said.

"The evidence was stacked against me, but I didn't kill my wife. I didn't take my daughter's mother from her." Declan said leaning forward with the picture of his daughter.

"The murder weapon was a knife from your kitchen with your prints on it. It was found, along with Camille's blood in the trunk of your car. Your neighbors said they heard an argument that night." Laurel replied as Declan stood up and began to pace.

"We had a knockdown fight over Jason Brodeur. Camille worked for him and his company had been dumping toxic waste into the Glades. Camille told me she'd gone and told a supervisor about it. I was afraid for my family's safety. And we argued very loudly, Yes. Izzy started crying, so Camille went and stayed in her room." Declan explained before he sat back down "In the morning, I went to apologize and that's when I found her. So I just grabbed Izzy and I ran outside and I called 911. I'm innocent, Ms. Lance."

Later

SCPD

Laurel was looking at a photo of the vigilante when her dad walked up to her with a folder "Well, I wasn't the lead on this, but from what I recall we had fingerprints, we had blood, we got motive, everything."

"Brodeur seems like the type of guy with resources needed to frame someone." Laurel said, turning to face her dad and taking the folder before she began to look through it.

"Laurel, in 24 hours, Peter Declan is lying down with a needle in his arm, and not getting up. If I thought we didn't have the right guy you think I'd be doing anything now except get at what really happened?" Quentin asked.

"Declan said his wife went to her supervisor with allegations that Brodeur was dumping toxic waste." Laurel said, looking at a statement.

"Yeah, but that supervisor, he said that never happened." Quentin replied, taking the folder "Let me see. What was his name? Here you go. Istook, Matt lstook. He said he didn't even see Camille that day. Happy now?"

"Yes." Laurel smiled before he stood up and began to leave.

"I thought it'd be cold day in hell before you started defending criminals." Quentin said, looking to his daughter who turned to him.

"I'm not convinced that Declan is a criminal. Like you said, he's on a clock. Can't leave any stone unturned." Laurel said, before he left as Quentin frowned.

Elsewhere

Thea, and her friends were leaving school, talking and laughing before Thea noticed Nathan leaning on a matte black Koenigsegg Agera R "What're you doing here?" Thea asked, walking over and ignoring how her friends were looking at Nathan.

"I thought I'd hang with my little sister for a bit." Nathan smiled which she returned.

"Whose car is that?" Thea asked.

"Mine." Nathan said walking around to the driver seat.

"All those years on an island hasn't dulled your love for fast cars I see. So how fast is this one?" Thea asked looking it over.

"0–62 mph in 2.8 second." Nathan smiled getting in and when Thea closed the door he sped off.

With Laurel

While Nathan, and Thea were out on the town, Laurel was busy looking over files on the Declan case, while Joanna walked over "You really are putting a lot of hours into this Declan thing. You actually think he's innocent?"

"Someone does." Laurel said, still looking at the files.

"So you said, but you didn't say was who." Joanna replied causing Laurel to bite her bottom lip, and look around before she walked up to her friend and smiled.

"A guardian angel."

Joanna blinked and crossed her arms over her chest "The guy in the hood? Wha? You're kidding."

"He tracked me down, asked me to look into the case." Laurel said.

"But you've met him?" Joanna asked causing Laurel to nod.

"But he goes against everything that I was ever taught to believe in. He breaks the law and God knows what else." Laurel said.

"How are you not afraid he won't do "God knows what" to you?' Joanna asked worried for her friends safety.

"He won't. I don't know, I can feel it." Laurel said assuredly.

"When I told you to meet someone, this is far, far away from what I meant." Joanna sighed.

Later

Laurel was now on a rooftop, looking over the city, and saw the vigilante standing on ledge overlooking the city "I got your message." she said "Is there a reason we can't do this face to face?"

 **"Your dad is a cop."** Nathan said as if that explained everything, **"You've met with Peter Declan."**

"You were right. He might be innocent. Declan said his wife blew whistle on Brodeur the day she was murdered." Laurel said.

 **"Then we need to get whoever she told about Brodeur to testify."** Nathan replied.

"He already has. Matt lstook, Camille's supervisor. Only he says that she didn't say a word to him." Laurel reported.

 **"He's probably lying."**

"Well, if he is, then he's very convincing. He had the jury and police believing him." Laurel said.

 **"He hasn't been questioned by me."** Nathan said turning to leave.

"Hey, I didn't become a lawyer to break the law or hurt anybody." Laurel said, causing Nathan to stop and look at her over his shoulder.

 **"I do whatever is necessary to protect the people of Starling City. I am what people like Peter Declan need."** Nathan said.

"If what you're doing isn't wrong then why are you hiding your face with a mask?" Laurel asked.

 **"To protect the ones I care about, from the enemies I make."** Nathan said.

"That sounds lonely." Laurel noted.

 **"It can be."** Nathan said jumping off the roof, causing Laurel to gasp before she ran over to the ledge only to see he was gone.

Elsewhere

Matt Istook was walking to his brand new Porshe, putting his suitcase in, before he got in himself, he started his car, but jumped in fear when he saw a black hood in his back seat before darkness was all he knew.

Moments Later

Matt groaned and blinked, before he screamed in fear, as he found himself dangling off the side of the building he was exciting "Oh my god!" he yelled before he looked to his legs to see his ankle being held by the hood man that attacked him.

 **"Matt lstook. You have failed this city,"** Nathan said, his blood red eyes and slit pupils glowing in the dark with his new lower face mask **(AN: His costume is still the same as the one from chapter 1, but I changed the lower face mask to be the same as Bucky Barnes Winter Soldier without the goggles.)**.

"What're you doing! I've done nothing wrong!"

 **"Peter Declan. Your lies have put him on death row. Now, either it's time to tell me the truth, or I drop you 30 stories to your death."** Nathan said.

"Oh, god, okay, okay I'll tell you anything you want to know." Matt nodded.

" **Quickly now, my arm is getting tired."** Nathan said.

"Okay. Okay. Brodeur paid me to say that Camille never spoke to me. But I didn't have anything to do with her death. Oh, God. Please get me down. I'll do anything." Matt pleaded only for Nathan to hold him out further "You can have the file."

 **"What file?"** Nathan asked.

"Camille gave me a file of evidence against Jason Brodeur. Let me go, and I'll tell you." Matt said only to nearly lose his shit, when Nathan tossed him up and caught his ankle again.

 **"Hurry up, my arm is really tired."** Nathan yawned.

"Okay, okay, it's in my desk! The file, it's in my desk at the office! You can have it!" Matt said before Nathan tossed him onto the roof and Matt breathed heavily before he looked back only to see that he was alone.

With Laurel

Laurel was alone at her office, working in her case when the lights went out, causing her to stand up and look around before she jumped when a folder was dropped on her desk **"Compliments of Matt lstook."** Nathan said causing her to face him.

"What's in here?" Laurel asked.

 **"Leverage on Jason Brodeur."** Nathan answered as Laurel looked through the file, before she smiled at him **"Should be enough to save Peter Declan's life."**

"As an attorney, I never would've gotten a file like this." Laurel said amazed as she looked at Nathan "I always thought the law was sacred. It fixed everything. Now I feel like there's too many people in this city who only care about themselves. People who are selfish. I think they need someone who cares about the lives of other people. Someone like you."

 **"Let's hope not. What I do Laurel, while it gets results, it's still dark and crosses a lot of lines. I do what I do to protect the innocents of this city, and sometimes that means soiling my hands in blood."**

"All in the pursuit to help others." Laurel said.

 **"Hmm, have a nice night Laurel."** Nathan said leaving as the lights turned back on, while Laurel smiled and sat down biting her bottom lip.

Later

After going home to sleep, and take a shower, Laurel immediately went back to work upon waking up, currently she was at her desk, when her dad walked up "Hey, you look busy. Is that the Declan case? There was a funny development on that." Quentin said sitting on her desk as she looked up to him "Matt lstook, he, uh, filed a police report. He said the Hood harassed him last night. And that's funny, because I gave my daughter lstook's name."

"Dad, I-" Laurel began but Quentin leaned forward angrily.

"He's a vigilante. He's a damn criminal, and you working with him. That makes you an accessory." Quentin interrupted.

"I'm trying to save an innocent man's life." Laurel defended standing up.

"No, you're breaking the law." Quentin retorted standing up as well.

"I wouldn't have to go outside the law if the police had done their damn job right in the first place!" Laurel snapped causing Quentin to frown as he paused.

"I asked you how you got this case. You lied to me straight to my face. Eh? I thought you and I didn't do that. Guess I was wrong." Quentin said before he stormed off while Laurel watched.

Later

Courthouse

Laurel was with the judge, who was looking through the file "Your Honor, the mere existence of the file proves that Mr. Istook perjured himself for Jason Brodeur's benefit." Laurel said.

"That's slander." the two women turned to see a lawyer, Jason Brodeur, and a big Russian walk in "Jared Swanstrom, Your Honor. I represent Jason Brodeur and Brodeur Chemical."

"The interests of justice requires you to stay the defendant's execution pending exploration of the newly discovered evidence." Laurel said looking to the judge.

"Ours isn't a court of justice. It's a court of law. And under the law, your evidence is insufficient to warrant a stay of execution. Your motion for habeas corpus is denied." the judge said causing Laurel to frown before she walked toward the exit but stopped in front of the smirking millionaire.

"This isn't over. I've got the loose end now. And no matter what happens, I'll pull on it until your whole world unravels." Laurel said before she walked off, roughly pushing past the man.

Later

With Jason

Jason was pacing in his office, freaking out "Declan's lawyer is pulling me into this. I'm gonna go to prison, if not for murder, then this dumping thing!" he said to his lawyer and body guard.

"That won't happen. There are steps we can take." His bodyguard Ankov said.

"You saw her. She's going after me!" Jason yelled panicking.

"She'll wanna meet with her client after what happened in court today. We have friends up in Iron Heights. Prison can be a dangerous place." Ankov said causing Jason to nod.

Elsewhere

Nathan was on the roof, with Laurel who filled him in on what happened **"It appears** **we're not done yet.** **"** Nathan said.

"I'm an attorney. Trust me, we're done." Laurel said causing Nathan to sigh.

 **"** **What do you need to free Peter Declan?"** Nathan asked after a moment.

"At this point, nothing short of a signed confession from Brodeur." Laurel said, causing Nathan to shrug and walk off "Where are you going?"

" **To get to get you that confession**."

Later

Jason's Office

Jason was against the wall, in his office, as Nathan stood in front of him " **Jason Brodeur, you have failed this city."**

"What do you want?" Jason asked taking deep breaths.

 **"You'll confess you arranged to have Peter Declan's wife murdered."** Nathan stated simply.

"What, so I can take his place in prison?" Jason asked.

 **"So you can avoid the death penalty."** Nathan said before Jason smirked.

"Except if I'm dead, well, then you got no one to pin Camille's murder on. You need me to exonerate Peter Declan."

" **You are a naïve fool.** " Nathan said, pulling out a kunai.

"Listen, maybe you could try to force me to sign a confession or something-ahh!" Jason screamed as Nathan stabbed him through the shoulder.

" **That might be difficult."** Nathan said ripping his knife free before he grabbed Jason and slammed him onto the ground and stomped on his wounded shoulder before he kneeled down forcing his foot down causing the man to scream before tears of pain were seen by Nathan " **Are you crying? Buck up Mr. Brodeur, you're in for a long night. Now choose, fingers or teeth**?"

"Okay! Okay fine, I did it! I ordered the hit on Declan's wife, please just stop!" Brodeur, cried out, unaware that he was being recorded.

Jason's phone began to ring, causing Nathan to sigh, and he pulled the man's phone out, and held it to his mouth "What?"

Jason looked up in shock when his voice came from the man stepping on him "It's Ankov. It's going down. One hour."

Nathan crushed the phone and tossed it away before he looked down at Jason **"What's going down in an hour?"**

Jason looked away, but shouted and began to cry when Nathan stuck his finger in his shoulder wound "Alright.. we made a plan..."

 **"What plan?'** Nathan asked as the man sobbed under him and forced his finger deeper into the wound **"Start talking!"**

"Were going to stage a riot in Iron Heights and in the confusion Peter, and his bitch lawyer will be dead!" Jason yelled, before he was knocked unconscious.

"Laurel." Nathan said in worry, rushing off.

Iron Heights

Peter was scared and frustrated as Laurel tried to talk to him "Okay, you have to listen to me. We still have a shot. You remember the friend I mentioned? The one who believes in you? He's working on something."

Outside

A guard on duty was keeping his eye on the perimeter but didn't see the figure that sped across the field and jumped over the gate, before it sped into the prison.

Inside

"No, I told you, Jason Brodeur is powerful. I've been here before. These lawyers holding out these little nuggets of hope." Peter said just as the lights went out and alarms blared as cells were opened.

Laurel stood up and looked around to see guards were running to respond "What? What the- ? "

"The warden is setting up a secure perimeter in C block. Stay here, ." the guard with her and Peter said before he left.

"Wait!" Laurel yelled looking outside to see the officer get grabbed before 4 inmates began to kick the cap out of him.

All throughout the cell block the inmates that were out of their cells attacked the nearest guard and Laurel happened upon a young looking guard get stomped on by a big guy who looked up and smiled at her, while the other inmates still in cells cheered and leered at her as they pulled the unconscious guard to the cell to grab his keys

The inmate began to advance on her before a arrow found its way into his heart and Laurel, and Peter turned to see Nathan dressed as a security guard with a ski mask **"Let's go."** he said just as the cell opened and he stayed back to let Laurel, and Peter get out first, and punched the first inmate sending him flying back into his cell mates and they all fell, as Nathan ran over and grabbed Laurel's hand and lead her and Peter away, before he saw a door while guards with shields were coming.

 **"Come on."** Nathan said leading Laurel and Peter to safety before he was in the back of the head with an aluminum bat by Ankov, who grabbed Laurel and threw her into a fence before he knocked her to the ground and began to strangle her.

Nathan shook the cobwebs from his head, before he saw Laurel looking at him as she was being strangled and quickly he sprang up, grabbed Ankov by the back of his shirt, and flung him back. sending him through the gated fence.

Laurel coughed as she got up and saw Nathan unsheathe a kunai as he walked up to Ankov, who was clutching his head. Quickly she ran up and grabbed his arm and flinched when she saw him look at her, and gasped as his Kyuubi eyes bored into her. "Let's go." she said causing Nathan to look at her before he looked back to Ankov, and slowly nodded before they looked up when the guards entered.

"Open up the generator area! Ms. Lance, stay back. Area secured." the guards chattered as Laurel turned to see Nathan gone, while the guards took Peter who didn't put up a fight.

Later

Laurel was outside the prison, when she saw her dad "Laurel. Sweetie. What are you..?"

"I'm all right." Laurel said hugging her dad.

"You sure?" Quentin asked getting a nod from his daughter.

"I'm sorry about what I said to you." Laurel said.

"You were right. Brodeur's bodyguard confessed to Camille Declan's murder. We got the wrong guy. But listen to me. I'm right too, about him. He's dangerous. He's outside the law." Quentin said as Laurel only nodded.

"I'm sorry." she said causing Quentin to nod before he placed his jacket over her.

"Let's get you home, sweetie. How did he get into that prison anyway, huh? A grown man in an outfit, that kind of stands out a little, doesn't it?"

"I don't know." Laurel said before she got into the car, and sat back but looked put the window and saw Nathan standing on the rooftop looking at her, before he turned and walked away disappearing into the darkness.

Later

"Okay," Kelton said as he typed at his computer as Quentin and Hilton sat with him, "here's the security footage from the exchange building shooting, but I've already swept through it."

"Well, now you're gonna do it again," Quentin said irritated, "look, when you went through it before, you were looking for a guy in a black leather hood, right?"

"Yeah. What do you want me to look for now, a guy in a pink tutu?" Kelton asked sarcastically and the two cops looked at him unamused.

"Just look for anything out of the ordinary." Quentin ordered.

Sighing, Kelton did as he and Hilton exchanged exasperated looks. However, while they did, Quentin saw something.

"Whoa, wait wait wait, go back. Ten seconds." Quentin ordered.

Bewildered, Kelton did as he asked. The footage rewound to show Nathan Queen kneeling on the floor of a stair case, holding a duffel bag. Hilton and Kelton looked on in confusion as Quentin started to grin.

"Play that again." Quentin ordered.

Queen mansion

Same time

Nathan walked into the sitting room to see Laurel there. Surprised, Nathan walked over to her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Nathan asked confused.

"I wanted to see that you were okay after…last night." Laurel said and Nathan nodded.

"I'm fine." Nathan said blankly and she nodded, although she didn't look like she believed him.

"Nate…I know it can't have been easy for you while you were away…but you can talk to me, if you want." Laurel said carefully.

"I appreciate that Laurel…but I have to handle this on my own before I can talk about it." Nathan assured her an she smiled slightly.

"The thing about having people who care about you, is that you don't have to. The people who love you are willing to share that burden with you." Laurel told him.

Suddenly, the front door burst open and the two whirled around to see Quentin and several other cops walking in.

"You can't just barge in here!" Walter protested as he got in Quentin's path.

"Yeah? I got a gun and a badge that says different." Quentin said arrogantly before moving passed Walter.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Nathan demanded as Quentin and the cops approached him.

"Dad?" Laurel asked, surprised this was happening and his eyes flashed as he saw her there before moving over to Nathan.

"Nathaniel Queen," Quentin said as, to Moira and Walter's shock, the police began putting Nathan in handcuffs, "you are under arrest for suspicion of obstruction of justice, aggravated assault-"

"Dad!" Laurel shouted but ignored her.

"Acting as a vigilante-"

"Have you lost your mind?!" Nathan demanded.

"And murder." Quentin finished a victorious, vindictive look in his eyes.

Quentin and Hilton grabbed Nathan and began leading him out of the room. Walter got out his phone and began dialing as Moira watch in shock while Laurel and Thea exchanged a look, wondering how this would go differently this time.

Nobody saw Nathan's dark smirk, as if everything was going exactly as he planned it.

 **Chapter Finished**

 **AN: I decided to do the trial episode because I liked it and it helps set up Justin Claybourne.**

 **Next Time: Queen V. Starling and Justin Claybourne**


	5. Chapter 5 - Court and Clayborne

Starling City Police Department

Morning

"Detective," Nathan said as he sat across from Quentin in the integration room, "You hate me. I get that, but that doesn't make me a murderer."

"No, the security footage from the Unidac auction does that pretty well." Quentin sneered.

"And as I said, after the shooting, I was with my family the whole time so that obviously is not me" Nathan gave Quentin a pointed look.

"And what about harassing Adam Hunt? That just happened to take place across the street from your little Homecoming Bash?" Quentin sneered.

"These are merely coincidences." Nathan said with a mocking smile.

"No. When they pile up like that, it becomes evidence." Quentin sneered.

"Somebody with your conditions really should be more careful about throwing accusations like that, detective. You believe just because you have a few instances that _'might'_ connect me to this Hood character that it's viable grounds to arrest me? Don't kid yourself. You've been transferring your hatred for my brother onto me ever since I got back, and now you see an opportunity to punish Oliver by punishing me." Nathan mocked Quentin as the door opened and an officer peeked his head in.

"His parents are here." The officer said.

"Tell 'em to wait." Quentin said dismissively.

"I want to see my son!" Moira shouted before bursting into the room, Walter not far behind her.

"I'm in the middle of an integration!" Quentin protested.

"Detective Lance, I know you hate my family, but I had no idea you would go so far as to arrest my son without any grounds whatsoever!" Moira shouted.

"I have very solid grounds," Quentin sneered as he stood up, "I have plenty of evidence."

"Which you can present to Mr. Queen's attorney when he gets here," Walter cut in smoothly, "Until then, this integration is over Detective."

"Sure," Quentin said after a moment, gathering his things, "You have fifteen minutes."

Nathan closed his eyes as Quentin walked out before Moira and Walter turned to him.

"Detective Lance appears to be on some personal vendetta against you." Walter noted.

"He is. He blames Oliver for the death of his daughter and since he can't go after my brother, he's transferring his hatred onto me," Nathan said and there was silence, "He also thinks I dress up and shoot people. With arrows."

"The important thing is not to say anything until your attorney gets here." Walter advised.

"Fine, I want Laurel." Nathan said and the two scoffed.

"Nathan, I don't think your brother's ex-girlfriend can be counted on to be objective!" Moira snapped.

"She knows me better than anyone; she knows that I can never be this guy. Walter, you say Lance has a vendetta?" Nathan asked.

"Yes." Walter confirmed.

"Well, I think Laurel can get him off it. He raised her to do the right thing, which includes representing an innocent man. So mom," Nathan looked imploringly at Moira, "please."

CNRI

Afternoon

"Laurel," Laurel looked up at the expected call, "I know this is-"

"I was there, remember?" Laurel pointed out and Moira flushed as she did recall that. "Is he okay?"

"At the moment. I'm here on his behalf Moira said and Laurel raised an eyebrow, appearing confused, "he wants you to represent him."

"I'm not sure that's appropriate." Laurel said, appearing hesitant, since she did not want to be accused of a conflict of interest.

"I know it's unfair to ask but, to be frank, I am desperate. He says if you won't represent him, the he doesn't want any attorney." Moira said and Laurel was shocked.

"That's suicide, he can't do that." Laurel said honestly horrified.

"I know, that's why I'm here. I know it's unfair to ask, given the circumstances, but…please. I am begging you. I can't lose him. Not again." Moira said.

"My own issues aside, he's my friend. I care about him and I can't let him do this. So…yes, I will represent him." Laurel said and Moira sighed in relief.

"Thank you." A grateful Moira hugged her.

Starling City Police Department

An hour later

Laurel came to Nathan in the interrogation room. "Hey, Laurel." Nathan greeted.

"Hey to yourself, Nate," Laurel said, "This is almost like old times, except now, I'm the one getting you out of jail."

"Well, it not exactly the same as 5 yrs. Ago. I'm actually not guilty this time," Nathan said with honest confidence.

Laurel sat down sighing, then reached out and grasped Nathan's hand tenderly, saying, "I'm sorry about all this. I really don't know what my father is thinking."

"He's thinking that he can use me to punish Oliver," upon seeing Laurel's confused expression, he elaborated, "Quentin hates Oliver for dragging Sara onto the Queen's Gambit. Since Oliver is dead, he is taking his vendetta out on me. And I'm not the only one. Thea won't talk about it, but I know he's harassed her before."

Laurel looked at him in the eyes, still holding his hand as she said, "Nate, I believe you and I want to help you. But I'm going to need proof of what you're saying to prove to the court that your word is legitimate."

Nathan pulled back and pulled out a flash drive, and gave it to her. "This has everything I have compiled on your father. If that bloody island did one good thing for me, it was giving me good survival instincts. I knew from the first insult he thrw my way, the moment you're father got a chance, he'd try something. I trust you Laurel, and personally, I know you could convince them without this, but if you want to have it just in case, then here." He finished as he handed it to her.

Starling City Court house

The next day at noon

"Mr. Queen, where's your attorney?" The judged asked, noticing the vacant seat next to Nathan.

"Right here your honor," Laurel entered, feeling her father's stunned eyes as she took her place by Nathan's right, "Dinah Laurel Lance, your honor."

"Welcome Ms. Lance. Mr. Queen, how do you plead?" The judge asked.

"I'm not guilty, your honor." Nathan said and she nodded.

"Very well, now onto the subject of bail." The judge began.

"Your honor," DA Spencer interrupted as she stood, "The Queen Family owns two private jets. And no amount of bail can promise Mr. Queen stays put."

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that the people's case is so circumstantial," Laurel interrupted as she got to her feet, "your honor, I would prefer not to waste anyone's time. You **will** be dismissing all the charges against my client."

"And why is that?" The judge raised an eyebrow.

"Because honestly, it is laughable how far this _'case'_ has gotten, if you can even call it that," Laurel announced boldly as several people turned to her in shock, "this is not about justice or the law, this is about satisfying one man's petty vendetta."

"Could you elaborate Ms. Lance?" The judge asked in confusion.

"Gladly. The arresting officer, Quentin Lance, has a vendetta against my client that goes back five years. He blames Mr. Queen for the death of his youngest daughter. When Mr. Queen was presumed dead, he took his anger out on Mr. Queen's family. Two years ago, there was a very public, drunken altercation between Detective Lance and my client's younger sister Thea Queen, who was only fifteen at the time, where the good Detective unleashed a slur of verbal insults on her. There were over a hundred witnesses, so I'm sure finding proof isn't that difficult. And now that's back, Detective Lance is able to focus all his anger on Mr. Queen. Less than two months ago, mere days after my client returned home, Detective Lance nearly attacked my client in front of multiple witnesses, myself included. He had to be dragged away from the scene by his partner, and was heard saying _'did you even try to save her?'_

"But there's more than that," Laurel said as Quentin stared at he, betrayal and anger filling his eyes, "he arrested my client yesterday without a warrant, breaking several police protocols. And he has a history of being an alcoholic. Lord knows how many times I have had to pick him up from the bar at night. In case I have not yet convinced you yet of my clients innocence, I have this to prove it."

Laurel took out the flash drive and inserted it into an audio speaker, and everyone was suddenly hearing the audio on it.

 _"Yeah." Lance nodded before he glared at Nathan "It's funny, isn't it? One day back and somebody's gunning for you. Aren't you popular?"_

 _"It's both a gift and a curse." Nathan shrugged nonchalantly._

 _Lance made to shout at Nathan but Moira spoke "Were you able to identify the men?"_

 _"Scrubbed identities. Untraceable weapons. These were pros." Lance's partner said._

 _"Yeah. They figured you'd pay a king's ransom to get your boy back. Or a Queen's ransom, as it were. After all, a parent would do anything to keep their child safe." Lance said snarkingly as he glared at Nathan._

 _"Are you alright Mr. Lance?" Nathan asked looking the man in the eye "Maybe you shouldn't be the one leading this case since it seems you wouldn't give a rats ass if I would've died today."_

 _"You listen here you son-"_

 _"Quentin." Lance's partner hissed stopping his partner._

 _"Mr. Lance, you seem to share the habit of projecting your anger onto me, when I've done nothing wrong to your family. Oliver took Sara onto the yacht not me. Is your anger justified? Without a shadow of doubt it is, but the man your angry at is dead...so get the hell out of my house and go do your job."_

Laurel paused to make an announcement, "This audio was from right after my client was first kidnapped. This next one is from the incident at the club."

 _"Who's Adam Hunt?" Nathan asked_

 _"A millionaire bottom feeder. I'm surprised you aren't friends."_

 _"Well I am a friendly guy, but I have no new friends seeing as I've been out of town for a while." Nathan shrugged as Tommy chuckled_

 _"Yeah. Well, he just got attacked by the guy with the hood. The guy that saved your ass the other day." Quentin said still glaring at Nathan_

 _"Really, did you catch him?" Nathan asked only for Quentin to glare, "Shame, I would really like to speak with him."_

 _"Did you even try to save her?" Quentin asked stepping into Nathan's face_

 _"Okay, let's go partner." Quentin's partner said starting to pull him away_

 _"Did you even try to save my daughter?" Quentin asked_

 _"I guess you'll never know." Nathan said causing Quentin to try to rush him but his partner and a other officer pulled him away_

 _"Sara wouldn't want this. Let's go." his partner said_

Laurel shut it off and continued, "Now, there is no **actual** evidence linking my client to the vigilante except one coincidence from his second day back and this video. This is not about the law or justice, this is about the fact that Detective Lance saw an opportunity to get revenge on the man he sees as his daughter's killer and took it. The fact we are even here is, to be blunt, laughable. I move to dismiss all charges."

"Your honor, the evidence, as circumstantial as the evidence is, it does raise some alarms. " The prosecutor protested.

"Evidence supplied by a vengeful alcoholic." Laurel pointed out and Quentin stared at her in disbelief.

"The prosecution has forty eight hours to come up with reasonable, non-circumstantial evidence," The judge said after a moment, "evidence not touched by Quentin Lance. If not, then Ms. Lance, your motion to have all charges dismissed will be passed." The judge slammed the hammer down.

"Your honor, he's a flight risk!" The prosecutor protested.

"Then minimize the risk. The defendant is willing to submit to home confinement and electronic monitoring through the wearing of a UKG45 administrated ankle device." Laurel said and Nathan frowned.

"No he wouldn't." Nathan protested and Laurel shot him a look.

"Yes, he would." Laurel said with a smile that said 'talk and I'll kill you' so Nathan wisely decided to shut up.

"Sold." The judge happily slammed down the hammer, to Spencer's dismay and Laurel had to suppress the smirk forming.

"Laurel," Nathan said as she began gathering her things, "I'm not happy about the ankle monitor, but…thank you."

"You were either going to have a stay in jail or be under house arrest. Besides, knowing you, I'm sure you already have a plan to get out of this," Laurel picked up her suitcase and looked him square in the eyes, "you just have to make some adjustments to make it work. And you don't really need to thank me. You're my friend, of course I'd help you out."

Laurel then walked out of the court room, refusing to meet her father's eyes.

Queen Mansion

Later in the afternoon

"Mom, it's not that bad." Nathan assured Moira as the two of them, along with Tommy, Thea, and Walter watched as the ankle monitor was attached to Nathan's leg.

"Okay," The cop said as the device was set, "this monitor has a direct line into the precinct. Stay on the property, you're golden. Any questions?"

"Yeah, I am having a sizable get together tomorrow evening and there is a better than small chance it spills into the outdoor poor." Nathan said causing Moira and Walter to look at him incredulously.

"Well that's fine. As long as you stay on pavement, you're golden. You step up on the grass; we're sending a SWAT team to forcibly subdue you." The cop warned him.

"Thank you officer." Walter said as he began to lead the cop out.

"A sizable get together?" Moira asked incredulously, her voice shaking with anger.

"I'm confined to this house for the foreseeable future, might as well make the most of it," Nathan said and Moira glowered at him, "and this party is gonna be themed, I was thinking…prison? Ah, burning man meets Shawshank Redemption and the invite says 'Come before Nathaniel Queen gets off!'"

"Nathaniel, perhaps a party isn't a good idea, considering the circumstances." Walter tried to reason as he walked back in to the room.

"I disagree," Tommy and they looked over at him, "the party will let people know Nate isn't worried in the slightest about this. And it will infuriate the police by making them look like ideas any more than Laurel already did. And people who are angry make mistakes."

"See, Tommy gets it!" Nathan exclaimed as they high fived.

Laurel's apartment

Same time

"How could you do that to me?!" Quentin demanded as he stormed into Laurel's apartment.

"You were trying to send somebody I care about to jail for a crime he did not commit. I did what any competent lawyer and friend would have done in my position." Laurel said coolly.

"You are defending the man who murdered your sister!" Quentin shouted.

"Did he put a gun to Sara's head? Did he force her into that boat?" Laurel demanded.

"What are you saying?" Quentin sneered.

"That neither Nathan or Oliver forced her to do anything, Sara made a choice. None of them could have known what that choice would bring," Laurel said, thinking on what had happened as a result, "Sara is not the saint you prefer to remember her as. She was selfish, spoiled, and cared only about herself. Nathan and Oliver are not the reason she died and he is not this vigilante."

"You know what? I don't need this." Quentin sneered as he turned and stormed out, leaving Laurel staring after him.

Queen Mansion

Later in the afternoon

"You know, when I signed on for this, I didn't think you'd get caught so soon." Lyla said as she closed Nathan's bedroom door.

"Yeah," Nathan drawled sarcastically as he looked down at his laptop, "I'm not sure **how** I could have **possibly** missed that security tape."

"You let yourself get caught?" Lyla asked in surprise.

"I return to Starling City, a few days later the vigilante shows up. Sooner or later, someone was gonna connect the dots." Nathan told her.

"Okay, well, what part of your plan is gonna get you to avoid going to prison for the rest of your life?" Lyla asked.

"There's more to it, but the mission comes first," Nathan as he flipped the laptop around to show Lyla a picture of a grey haired Caucasian man, "Justin Clayborne."

"Who's he?" Lyla asked confused.

"The owner of Clayborne Pharmaceuticals, which recently acquired the rights to Dycloseral, which fights a particular strain of Tuberculosis. Which recently had an outbreak in Lamb Valley." Nathan told her.

"Let me hazard a guess. As soon as the outbreak started, prices were inflated?" Lyla said and Nathan nodded.

"Prices for Dycloseral went from ten dollars to a thousand literally overnight. The people in Lamb Valley, they're working class, low income. They can't afford this." Nathan told her.

"And what do you plan to do about this while under house arrest?" Lyla inquired.

"If you go back to my base, you understand just how I already have that covered. I'm gonna find out where Clayborne goes and who he meets with tonight. I'm gonna need you to run the computers for me tonight." Nathan ordered and Lyla nodded.

Afternoon

"Hey, you okay? All this stuff, it's gonna be fine, I promise." Nathan said as he sat down across from his sister.

"Did you do this stuff Detective Lance says you did?" Thea asked as she looked her brother in the eye.

"Of course not." Nathan said immediately.

"If you say so, I believe you. But, if you did…that would be okay to." Thea said.

"Really?" Nathan asked, genuinely surprised.

"The vigilante, his methods are extreme, but he's done more good than the cops have all year. I may not like it, but he's a necessary evil I say." Thea said, unknowingly planting a seed in her brother's mind.

"Maybe." Nathan said, careful not to show how much his sister's acceptance meant to him.

Queen Mansion

Night

"If you think this is what Prison is like you're in for a rude awakening," Lyla told Nathan as they walked through the party, "let's go somewhere private."

Nathan nodded and the two walked up to Nathan's room.

"You're guy followed Clayborne to his factory. Apparently, there's supposed to be a big meeting there in a few hours." Lyla said and Nathan nodded.

"The perfect time for the Arrow to show up." Nathan said and Lyla raised an eyebrow.

"Nathan, you can't leave this house." Lyla pointed out.

"It doesn't have to be ' _this'_ me in the hood." Nathan said giving Lyla a look.

"I'm not following, Nate," Lyla said.

"The guy from last night in my costume was me." Nathan said, causing Lyla to be more confused, "May I show you something?"

With Lyla's permission, Nate created a single clone of himself, causing him to drop to his knees, panting as he did since he already had one running around.

"H-how?" Lyla asked.

"Let's just say it's a little trick I picked up after China." Nathan said as he and his clone refused, "The guy under the hood is a clone of me."

"Listen Lyla," Nathan coming closer, "Out of everyone in Argus, I like you the most. I would prefer it if this did not reach Amanda's ears." Lyla nodded and assured him.

"Well, my job was to report on how you were doing and make sure you didn't become a threat to innocent people of Starling, so as long as that remains true, I can try to keep this quiet. In the meantime, I have a meeting to help bust up." Lyla said before she turned and walked out.

Later, Nathan was downstairs, getting a drink, when he turned around to see Laurel.

"Do we have a legal meeting, because I have friends over?" Nathan joked and she shot him an unamused look as she reached him.

"Can we talk, privately?" Laurel asked.

"You are not actually the first person to say that to me," Nathan joked before he saw the angry look on her face, "the first was Lyla. Just bodyguard related stuff."

Shaking her head in exasperation, Laurel followed Nathan up to his room.

"Look," Laurel said as she turned around to face him, "I would just like to apologize for my father's behavior the last few days."

"You don't have to apologize for him." Nathan told her.

"It wasn't just Sara, Nate." Laurel said and he raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Nathan asked clueless.

"After Sara died, my father threw himself into his work. I think that's why I'm an attorney, he ran to the law and I followed. But my mother couldn't. So she left him…left us," Laurel said and saw Nathan look down, "I'm not telling you this to make you feel guilty or to try and defend him, I just want you to understand."

"Why don't you hate me? You should. I failed her." Nathan asked since he still blamed himself for not saving Sara during his second year.

"I did," Laurel admitted, " hate Oliver I mean, for so long I did. But I realize that Sara made a choice. Oliver didn't force her to do anything, that was Sara's choice. You need to stop blaming yourself for Ollie and Sara dying. Whatever debt you owed me or my father, I think you've more than paid it with all that you've been through…"

At some point during their talk, Laurel had put a hand on the side of Nathan's face. Neither was sure who moved first, but they were suddenly kissing fiercely. Nathan ran a hand through her dark hair as Laurel wrapped her arms around her neck. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried them over to his bed.

 **Lemon Time Lemon Time**

Nate sat himself down on his bed, kicking off his shoes and socks, as Laurel unbuttoned his shirt and he did the same with her shirt tossing it to the side. Nathan moved from her lips down to her neck as he unclasped her bra and threw it to the side.

Nathan played with and groped Laurels breasts for a bit, eliciting sweet moans from the beautiful lawyer. Nathna worked his magic on her for several minutes before moving downward and slowing removing her blouse and panties.

Nate kissed his way up her leg, building her anticipation as he moved his mouth closer to her cunt. Finally, he reached his prize, inserting his tongue in her pussy and licking it.

"Oh, Nate," Laurel moaned, her voice filled with lust. She out her hand on his hand, urging him further onward as with every skillful lick, he was rewarded with a moan from Laurel bringing her closer to climax.

After 5 minutes of him licking her cunt, Laurel was ready for her climax. "Oh god Nate. I'm cumming!" She moaned as she came all over his. He eager licked up her love juices until she finished her organism.

Nathan pulled his head up, savoring her taste, "Mm, it like nectar." He said. As she lay on her back, leg spread wide, Nathan positioned himself over her, the length on his cock rubbing against her outer folds, teasing her as his mighty sword eagerly desired to be sheathed.

"Stop teasing me already, Nate," Laurel moaned.

"Ahh, but I remember you love being teased," Nate whispered as he nibbled on her ear playfully while still teasing her.

"Please" Laurel pleaded, and Nate relented.

"I'll start out slow." He whispered

Smiling lightly, Laurel nodded in appreciation, before her face scrunched up as Nathan began to bury himself into her.

Nathan smiled down at Laurel as he completely sheathed himself inside of her, before he French-kissed her, as she grabbed onto his shoulders paralyzed by the pleasure of his cock being buried in her cunt. "I-It's so much bigger than I remember." She whispered with a gasp.

"You're so tight, Laurel." Groaning, Nathan kissed Laurel again, lustfully, and began to pay attention to her breasts again.

After a minute of Nathan staying motionless and kissing Laurel, the women finally bucked her hips against his, showing she was ready. "Fuck me." Laurel smiled.

Nathan pulled out only until the tip was in and with a hard grunt, plunged his cock back into Laurel. The sudden hard thump made Laurel moan loudly, her mind losing focus.

Bracing himself on his fists, Nathan began to hammer away into Laurel, as he lost himself in her tight walls "Fuck." Nathan hissed, as he suddenly turned Laurel onto her stomach and laid atop of her, as he continued to pound away, as a moaning Laurel turned to kiss him, as the headboard began to slam into the wall, as they both lost themselves in their pleasure.

 **End Lemon**

Starling City

While the real Nathan was having fun

Justin Clayborne was holding a meeting when suddenly, the lights all turned out. They all looked around in confusion before He was there. The Arrow jumped down, slugged on security guard, took his gun, and it was on. He fired three times, killing most of the guards as Clayborne's guests fled. The Arrow knocked the gun out of the last guard's hand and struck him across the face with his bow, knocking him out as the gun fired. It hit a gas tank before them, causing a small explosion and Clayborne backed up in fear, the explosion making The Arrow appear extremely terrifying.

 **"Justin Clayborne, you have failed this city!"** The Arrow said in a disguised voice as he stalked over to him.

"I-I think you got the wrong guy pal. My company only makes drugs that help people." Clayborne stammered, trying to weasel his way out of this.

 **"And what about the people in Lamb Valley?"** The Arrow challenged.

"It's not my problem some people can't afford it." Clayborne told him.

Snarling, The Arrow slugged him. Not hard enough to knock out, but enough to cause a lot of pain. Clayborne went down, crying out as he felt his bruised jaw. He looked up and paled as he saw the barrel of a gun aimed at him.

 **"Your days of holding this city hostage are over. Is that in anyway unclear?"** The Arrow growled.

"Okay, I get it!" He said fearfully.

The Arrow tossed the gun away and started walking off.

 **"You have until eleven P.M. tomorrow to make this right**." The Hood warned him as Clayborne stood up.

"Or what?" Clayborne challenged, seeming to regain some of his bravo.

Nathan whirled around, notched an arrow in his bow, and fired. It hit Clayborne in the shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain.

 **"The next one will go in your chest."** The Arrow said before he turned and walked off.

Queen Mansion, Nathan's room

Later

Laurel put on her shirt and the silent was penetrating as Nathan, fully clothed, sat on the bed next to her, the tension between them thick enough to cut with a knife.

"So," Laurel began, trying to find the words, "I…was not expecting that when I came here tonight."

"Can't say I was either," Nathan admitted, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Laurel asked confused.

Nathan sighed, "If I could go back and redo my whole life over again where you and Sara are concerned, I would. I spent so much time chasing other girls like Oliver….that I didn't realize that I could have had something great if I had just gone after you first. And I'm sorry that I can't be the guy you deserve right now."

Laurel looked at him sadly and asked him as she traced one of his scars with her finger, scars she hadn't noticed until they were done having sex, "Nate, what happened to you on that island? How did you get these scars?"

 _Flashback_

 _Lian Yu_

 _Nathan groaned awake to see that he was handcuffed being lead to some encampment taking note of the weapons being unloaded, before he was shoved into a tent into a pole, while a man sat with a glass of ice, and a soda_

 _"Please sit, your making me feel rude." the man said as Nathan with a grunt sat down, "I do apologize for my men's treatment of you, they're trained to view any stranger as hostile." the man said opening the soda and pouring it into the glass slowly as he watched Nathan "I'm Edward Fyers by the way, and you are?"_

 _"I'm Nathan Queen, I've been shipwrecked here. I don't know how long,"_

 _"Interesting, let's talk shall we Nathaniel."_

 _"About what?" Nathan asked_

 _"Well for starters," Fyers reached back and pulled out a photo of Yao Fei "This gentle man, do you know him?"_

 _"I've never seen him a day in my life." Nathan said causing Edward to frown "Who is he?"_

 _'You see I've been nothing but polite, and in return you lie to my face." Edward said glaring at Nathan who raised an eyebrow_

 _"Look buddy, I just lost my father, brother, and best friend, your men knocked me out after I buried my father, and brought me here, whatever business you have with that guy is your own, not mine."_

 _"Do you know what this island is called?"_

 _"I don't care." Nathan said_

 _"Lian Yiu, it's mandarin for Purgatory, but I can make it feel like hell. Now I don't know why your protecting him, but your young, so that makes you foolish. Your going to tell me what I want to know." Edward said before he looked to the entrance "He's yours now!"_

 _Nathan turned back to see a man in all black with half his mask being black and the other half being orange walk in._

 _End Flashback_

"Laurel, I,"

"The truth Nathan." Laurel said causing Nathan to sigh.

"Few days, after I made it to the island, I was tortured by the people already there." Nathan said causing Laurel's eyes to widen in horror as Nathan got flashes of himself tied to a rafter as Wintergreen drove his sword across his chest as his old self cried out in pain.

"W-what why?" Laurel asked.

"I don't know, they were apparently looking for someone, and thought I knew where he was. I'd be dead if it wasn't for a man named Yao Fei another prisoner, he helped me get free." Nathan said before he looked to Laurel seriously "You can't tell anyone the truth."

"What why not?"

"There is a reason I don't talk about this with them Laurel. I can't sleep, because every time I do I wake up to a nightmare about when I was tortured. I barely eat. I been faking it he whole time so nobody suspects how screwed up I am. I don't want them to know, because the last thing I need is anymore pity." Nathan said, letting his vulnerability show "Promise me."

"I promise." Laurel nodded causing Nathan to nod slowly before she brought him into a hug "I'm so sorry for what you've been through."

"It wasn't your fault Laurel, you have nothing to be sorry for." Nathan said before he pulled back and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear "Besides, I'm alive, that's all I care about."

Nathan opened his mouth, an incredulous look on his face, but his phone rang. Digging it out, he saw it was Lyla. Breaking away from Laurel slightly, Nathan answered.

"Arrow one, Clayborne zero." Lyla told him and Nathan nodded.

"Hang on," Nate said as someone knocked on the door, "What?"

"Mr. Queen," Malcolm's assassin on the other side of the door said, equipping his pistol with silencer, "if you're entertaining guests upstairs, should I have any refreshments sent up here?"

Despite the tension, Laurel flushed. Nathan stood up walked over to the door.

"No, we're about to head back down," Nathan said before putting the phone to his ear, "good job, now get back here as soon as you can."

Nathan hung up his phone and opened the door only to get a gun in his face. Nathan quickly grabbed the man's hand that was holding the gun and dragged him inside, managing to disarm him. However, the man was no slouch and quickly moved for the gun. Nathan tried to stop him but it was apparent the man was skilled when he fought back.

"Help, somebody help!" Laurel cried out, playing the part of the frightened girlfriend to a T.

The two rolled of the couch as they struggled, Nathan pushing him off. Unfortunately, this put him in front of the gun, which he promptly grabbed. He stood up and took aim at Nathan only to get shot in the back twice. Quentin burst in, surveying the scene as he and Nathan stared at each other for a moment before Quentin spotted Laurel. Seeing the messed up bed, Quentin scowled before he looked away, holding his anger in check.

Later, in the sitting room, Laurel stood in the corner, watching as her father talked on the phone while Nathan and Laurel sat on the couch.

"How do you know I was in trouble?" Nathan asked.

"Because when you were fighting that guy, the ankle monitor broke." Quentin admitted sheepishly and Laurel rolled her eyes.

"Really dad?" Laurel asked annoyed as Moira and Walter burst in.

"Are you alright?!" Moira asked frantically.

"Mom, I'm fine." Nathan assured her and she stood up, whirling on Quentin.

"This is on you! By accusing Nathan so publicly, you've made him a target!" Quentin didn't say anything, knowing she was right.

"Have you any idea who attacked Nathan?" Walter asked.

"Someone with a grudge against The Hood obviously, we haven't identified him yet." Quentin said before he knelt down and began removing Nathan's ankle monitor.

"What are you doing?" Nathan asked seemingly confused.

"Just got a call from my lieutenant. Justin Clayborne, head of Clayborne pharmaceuticals, was attacked by The Hood tonight. Multiple witnesses put him there," Quentin stood up and faced Moira, "in light of that, all charges against your son have been dropped."

"I'm truly sorry for what's happened to your family Quentin. Now, would you kindly get the hell out of my house?" Moira told him, making it in quite clear this was a command.

Quentin looked over at Laurel, but her steely gaze let him know she wasn't going home with him tonight. Sighing internally, Quentin turned around and walked out of the sitting room.

"Mr. Lance," Quentin stopped as he heard Nathan call out, "Thank you."

Quentin gave the barest of nods before he left.

Next day

Queen's mansion, Nathan's room

Nathan was cleaning up his room when the door opened. He turned around to see Laurel walk in. Despite everything, he smiled.

"Hey." Nathan said as she walked over, closing the door behind him.

"Hey, I wanted to check in. I didn't think it was a good idea to stay last night." Laurel said and Nathan shrugged.

"Not the first time I've been attacked in the last 5 years." Nathan said nonchalantly.

"There is something concerning about how easily you just said that," Laurel said dryly, "Look, Nate about last night…before all the craziness-"

"As much as I want it to happen again, it can't. Not right now anyway. Maybe one day, when I am ready for it, we could be together…but today is not that day."

"Nate, you don't have to keep me at a distance, the only reason you are is because you're afraid. And I get it, after spending so long alone in this…darkness, you've lived in, you're afraid of anything else. But I'm here."

Laurel reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm just not ready yet, Laurel." Nate said.

"I understand." Laurel whispered in his ear before letting go and walking out, leaving him staring after her.

CNRI

Later in the morning

"What are you doing here dad?" Laurel sighed as she saw her father waiting for her at her desk.

"How long have you been screwing him? Since he got back?" Quentin demanded angrily and Laurel scowled.

"I'm a grown woman, I don't need to justify myself to you. But for your information, nothing happened between Nate and me until last night. And it may never happen again, so take that as you will. Now get out." Laurel said, having had enough.

Quentin stared at her with an unreadable expression on his face before he walked out.

SCPD

Afternoon

"You wanted to see me Frank?" Quentin asked as he opened the door to Pike's office.

"Take a seat, Lance." Pike growled and Quentin sat down in the chair offered to him.

"Look, I know, I messed up." Quentin said and Pike cut him off.

"That's putting it lightly. We are now the laughing stock of the city! Did you know Moira Queen threatened legal action against us? Nathaniel Queen, the guy you just tried to send to jail for murder, is the one who talked her down. But she wanted consequences and I agree. For the next month, you are on desk duty." Pike told him and Quentin started.

"Frank-"

"And you are now sentenced to court mandated therapy. No arguments, no loop holes, this is the bed you made. Now sleep in it." Pike stood up and walked out, leaving Quentin to pick up the shattered pieces of his life.

Arrow lair

Night

"You seem unusually tense." Lyla noted as Nathan worked out his frustrations on the training dummy.

"I'm pissed off," Nathan said as he punched the training dummy so hard it snapped in half. He picked up the towel and threw it over his shoulder, "So, did Clayborne comply?" **(1)**

"No, time's up," Lyla said and Nathan moved off to leave, "Nathan-"

"I hacked onto his private computer," Nathan turned to Lyla, "Clayborne created this epidemic. He is part of the AK Desmond group. They are black-marketers who specialize in bio-weapons. What do you think they've been working on?" Nathan demanded.

"Weaponized Tuberculosis." Lyla realized and Nathan nodded.

"He had his chance, Lyla." Nathan said firmly as he walked out.

Justin Clayborne's home

Later

Two arrows were shot at the building. One killed the power by hitting the fuse box, the other hit the side of the building and jammed all radio signals.

Nate burst into the building, having found it due to the tracer his clone had managed to plant on Clayborne's car, and immediately saw a guard. Acting quickly, he drew an arrow, notched it, and fired. It hit the guard in the forehead. The guard fell to the floor, dead, as another one came of a door and rushed Nate. He grabbed him with one arm and threw him through a glass wall. As he sat up, dazed, Nate walked over, pulling out a shuriken and flicking it towards the guy, causing his six-bladed shuriken to embed itself in the guards jugular. Nate then walked passed the two dead guards and saw Clayborne talking to a guard.

"Kill that Robin Hood son of a bitch!" Clayborne ordered before turning and running like the coward he was.

The guard pulled a gun but Nathan fired an arrow. Said black and red arrow piercing the guard in the subclavian artery, causing him to drop his gun as he bled out. As he went down. Nathan stalked passed him, his target vision only on Clayborne. He followed Clayborne's trail, seeing it led up an escalator. Multiple guards were coming down and Nate notched two arrows, firing them and hitting two of them in the larynx, taking them out. Nate rushed up the other side, holstering his bow, whilst unsheathing his sword decapitating two more guards, letting their corpses fall down the escalator stairs. Surrounded by three guards, he stabbed a guard in the heart before throwing the corpse down and stabbing the other two in the hearts and doing the same to them. His path cleared, Nate continued on his journey.

Nathan found himself on the roof. Clayborne was with two guards, running but having nowhere to run to. Nathan resheathed his sword, took out his bow and drew two arrows and fired, getting the two guards in the back, killing them instantly. As they fell dead, Clayborne turned around, fear written across his face.

" **Don't bother trying to run. No one's coming to save you,"** Nathan said in voice modulator.

"You gonna tell me again I failed this city?" Clayborne mocked.

 **"You infected the people in Lamb Valley with tuberculosis to turn a profit!"** He snarled snarled.

"You wanna make this city great again, this is how! With business!" Clayborne said, reminding Nathan of General Shrieve from China in his 3rd year with his Alpha-Omega Bio Weapon, and Konstantin Kovar from the 2nd half of his 4th year away with his Red Death.

 **"You are sentencing innocent people to death!"** Nate snarled, feeling his rage grow unchecked.

"Nobody cares about those people! I'm just thinning the heard." Clayborne justified, not realizing he had pushed Nathan over his limit.

 **"So am I. You just lost your right to live."** Nathan snarled. **(2)**

Rushing forward, Nathan Kicked Clayborne onto his back. Swiftly taking out two arrows, he stabbed Justin's hands, pinning him to the roof. He duck-taped Justin's mouth shut then stabbed his feet with arrows.

" **Don't worry, I didn't pierce any major arteries, but that's the least of your problems."** Nathan growled as he ripped Justin's upper body clothes off and pulled a kunai. **"I was going to kill you quickly but now you've pissed me OFF! You're going to die, Clayborne, but not before I make you suffer for EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. You infected!"** With that, Nathan took his kunai and began flaying the skin off of Clayborne, his screams muffled by the ducktape on his mouth, **"So let's see how long you last."**

The following morning the police arrived at Clayborne's home to find his guards slaughtered, and they found Clayborne on the roof, his body still pinned to the floor, but all the skin from his waist to his head was found floating in his pool.

 **Chapter Finished**

 **AN:**

 **1: Nathan doesn't receive his clones memories**

 **2: I threw this little torture scene in to show to show just how dark Nathan can get. He still remembers Shrieve and Kovar, and he hated them for what they did with bio-chemicals, so naturally somebody like Clayborne would piss him off enough that he would make him suffer.**


	6. Chapter 6 -Royal Crush

**Chapter 6 – Royal Flush Gang**

 **Story Start**

Grunting could be heard in the base of one Nathaniel Queen, as he bobbed and weaved through Lyla's attacks, before he spun around her spartan kick, and slapped her ass causing her to gasp, and rub the stinging cheek.

"Your attack patterns are still too predictable, and you're thinking too much. Don't think, just act." Nathan said.

"What good would that do? You're a ninja with super powers."

"That's the thing, I'm not using my Mirakuru right now." Nathan said before he broke his own arm. Then he closed his eyes and opened them to reveal his kyuubi eyes. His arm then suddenly snapped back into place, as if it had never been broken in the first place.

"What does those eyes of your's mean?" Lyla asked.

"I'm only using my Mirakuru powers when my eyes are like this." Nathan pointed to his Kyuubi eyes, Lyla watching as they changed back to their original color. "I've learned how to turn it on or off."

"And your cloning?" Lyla continued.

"My ability to create a perfect clone of myself is tied to my Mirakuru. It a physical ability and that is the reason it leaves me temporarily physically drained just making one. If I attempted to make more than say 5 clones at a time, even I would probably die," Nathan said causing Lyla's eyes to widen slightly "Speaking of being dead."

Lyla watched Nathan head to a computer "Scott Morgan runs Water & Power in the Glades. Jacks up the prices when people can't pay shuts them down even in the dead of winter." he said.

"Which is at least a month away." Lyla said before she brought something up while Nathan raised an eyebrow "Look at this."

"These guys started in Keystone three years ago. Began moving west, hitting banks along the way. This morning, they hit Starling City Trust. Shot an off-duty cop. He's in a coma. Doctors say it's a coin-toss whether he'll make it."

"If he's a cop, S.C.P.D. will be over it." Nathan said.

"Overwhelmed, underfunded. These guys don't hit one time, they hit two or three per city. Right now, they're planning their next job." Lyla said.

"Why exactly are you bring this up?" Nathan said.

"You said you wanted to help this city. And while going after all the names in your dad's book is okay and all, but your city still needs a symbol."

"I'm not a hero, Lyla. I'm a protector, an enforcer of order. I ain't looking to inspire anyone." Nathan said

"Well you will regardless, now people think you're a psychopath going after the rich. Show them that your actually trying to help this city." Lyla said pointing to the article.

"You're going to hound me on this aren't you?" Nathan asked causing Lyla to smirk in triumph.

"You know me so well."

"I'll think about it." Nathan sighed, before Lyla slapped him.

"That's for slapping my ass." Lyla said as Nathan smiled.

"I remember you liked to be spanked." Nathan said causing Lyla to blush.

Later

Queen Estate

Nathan, and Thea walked toward the steps as Thea talked "I mean, haven't you noticed she's been acting a little down lately? Heh, what am I saying? Of course you haven't."

"Since when do you pay attention to how Mom's feeling?" Nathan asked with a raised eyebrow as they walked down the stairs.

"Since our step-father decided to take a business trip halfway around the world."

"When someone at Walter's pay grade takes a trip, it's always sudden. It's part of being a CEO, I wouldn't read too much into that." Nathan said just as Moira walked into the hall with flowers.

"Ah. Guess who I just hung up with?" Moira said happily as Nathan rose an eyebrow "Janice Bowen. Carter's mother."

"Ugh." Nathan gagged.

"Carter Bowen. The perfect son." Thea smiled

"Is he perfect?" Moira asked.

"According to you. _Carter Bowen just won the national chess championship_." Nathan said playfully mocking Moira

" _Carter Bowen is anchoring the debate team_." Thea joined him

"I didn't make that big a fuss." Moira smiled

" _Nathaniel, Carter just got accepted into Harvard and Princeton_." Thea smiled.

" _Because Carter got a perfect score on his SATs. Now, how did he manage to study and cure cancer?"_ Nathan mimicked.

"All right, all right you two. I get it, I get it. Well, they're coming for brunch and I expect you to be there."

"I'll be busy doing anything but that." Nathan said as a matter-of-factedly.

"I haven't seen the Bowens in years. Whatever it is that you have planned I'm sure the two of you can make the sacrifice just this once." Moira said looking at her children.

"We'll be there." Nathan sighed after a moment as Moira smiled and walked off.

"I hate you." Thea said making to walk off, but Nathan smirked and grabbed her before he began to tickle her sensitive spot like he did when she was younger causing her to laugh "Stop, stop".

"Take it back and I will." Nathan said as Thea laughed.

"Okay, okay, I take it back." Thea said breathing heavily as Nathan stopped his assault and let her go, before Thea hit him, and ran off giggling when he reached to grab her again.

"This isn't over!" Nathan shouted, as his phone rung.

"Yeah?"

"Scott Morgan from your father's list? He just tried to kill himself. Maybe afraid of getting a visit from you. Can you make it to Starling General?"

"I'm on my way." Nathan said turning and running into Tommy.

"Hey, just the man I wanted to see." Tommy said as Nathan raised an eyebrow "I just picked up a new sports car. I'm thinking, we can open her up, pick up a few speeding tickets."

"That sounds great, but something has come up with the club construction, and I gotta take care of it, Sorry bro." Nathan said tapping Tommy's shoulder and walking off.

"Oh, uh, okay." Tommy said lamely as he watched Nathan leave "Nice talk. Thanks."

"He moves fast, doesn't he?" Thea said walking into the room.

"It's ironic since you're the one we call Speedy." Tommy smiled turning to Thea.

"Ah, "Called," please. For the love of God." Thea groaned before she said "But if you need somebody to talk to, I'm here."

Tommy looked thoughtful and nodded "You know, maybe you could help. There's this girl that I'm interested in. And I am really not sure how to pursue it."

"Have you tried using your usual lines? "My name is Tommy Merlyn, I'm a billionaire, even though I don't look like Warren Buffett." Thea said smiling.

"Yeah, she is aware of that and she doesn't care. You know, money really isn't a big deal to her." Tommy replied.

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel?" Thea asked.

"Well, I've-I've known her for a long time. And I'm not sure the direct approach is the right way to go." Tommy admitted.

"Maybe you have to figure out what's a big deal to her and make it a big deal to you." Thea offered.

Tommy smiled in realization "Thea, you are amazing, heh. Love you." he said running off as Thea shrugged and walked upstairs to find something to do.

Starling General

Nathan arrived in his car, and hopped out as Lyla walked over "Scott Morgan isn't the type to kill himself." Nathan said looking at her.

"Well, I knew it would get you to come here." Lyla said as an ambulance unloaded a comatose man as a woman walked up.

"Ms Michaels, I can't thank you enough for arranging to move my husband from county ward to Starling General. Now I know he's getting the best care."

"You should be thanking Nathaniel Queen over here. He's paying the bill." Lyla smiled shaking the woman's hand "Jana's husband, Stan, is a police officer. He happened to have been making a deposit at Starling Trust."

"The bank that was robbed." Nathan nodded as he looked to the depressed wife "Is he gonna be okay?"

"The next 24 hours are crucial. He should have just kept his head down, you know?" the wife said

"I've known a few police officers, they were always willing to help others even if that means putting themselves at risk." Lyla said as Nathan's eyebrow twitched.

"Thank you." Stan's wife said shaking Nathan's hand.

"No problem." Nathan smiled before the woman walked off. He looked at Lyla in annoyance.

"You see, your city has other problems, then the names on your father's list. You want to clean this city up, to do that you can't ignore the people who need your help." Lyla said before adding, "And besides, after your little episode of flaying Justin Claybourne alive, I'd say you need some type of moral anchor and maybe this could be it."

"Fine." Nathan sighed "Let's go before Lance and his partner show up and start giving me dirty looks."

Lyla smiled as she followed after Nathan.

Later

Nathan and Lyla were at the factory, going over the footage of the bank robbery, as one of the robbers punched a bank teller "See that guy there? He's got a temper." Lyla noted.

"And he shot Officer Washington." Nathan said.

"That's right." Lyla said as she enhanced the frame around the man's hand.

"High school ring. That ring will get us an ID." Nathan said.

"But even with photo enhancement you have a problem getting a clear shot of that ring." Lyla stated.

"It left an impression, the police would've photographed. It'll be in evidence lockup. I'll be back." Nathan said.

Sometime later

Nathan reappeared with the flash drive and put the flash drive in and brought up a picture "The bank manager Ace punched. His ring left a mark. Larchmont High School."

Lyla began to type "Cross-referencing his height and age with the students and alumni, we have Kyle Reston." Lyla said.

Nathan frowned as he read the info Lyla managed to get on Kyle "Before Kyle's senior year, not only did he drop out, he dropped off the grid, along with his family. Father, mother, younger brother."

"Aside from Stan Washington there were 22 customers and employees that came. Nine men, 13 women. Inside the bank, nine men, 14 women. The police are looking for a crew, but our actual target is a family." Nathan said.

Next Day

Nathan arrived home late for brunch after spending the night looking into the Reston family, entering the foyer he saw Moira, and Thea with their guests "Well, I'm sorry Walter couldn't join us." Janice said.

"Oh, yes. Well, the Australian trip came up suddenly. He sends his apologies."

"Where's Nathaniel? He's not out of town too, is he?" Carter asked.

"I'm sure he's,"

"Running a bit late, sorry." Nathan said causing everyone to turn to him as he walked closer and kissed Moira's cheek, and hugged Thea.

"Thank God you're here." Thea whispered before Nathan pulled back and winked at her.

Janice with a large smile walked up and hugged Nathan "It is so good to see you. We all thought you were,"

"Oh, well, we are just happy he's home." Moira interrupted Janice as Nathan raised an eyebrow at the woman, before everyone sat down at the table,

"Hmm, and returning as a celebrity too." Carter said as Nathan looked at him.

"How do you mean?" Nathan asked.

"Well, billionaire scion, castaway for five years. You know, there is a bidding war for the rights of your life story.".

"Really." Nathan said with a small frown.

"At least, that's what my agent says." Carter shrugged smirking.

"I thought you were a neurosurgeon." Nathan said.

"I know. It's crazy, right? One minute I'm publishing this book on how long-term potentiation initiates the creation of a slow-moving protein synthesis and then next, there's an agent trying to make me the next Dr. Oz, heh." Carter gloated as Nathan's eyebrow twitched dangerously, which his family noticed causing Moira to place a hand on his knee, knowing that he was going to say something inappropriate "Truthfully, I feel it's our duty as Starling City's more fortunate to help those most in need."

"I see five years has really changed your attitude Carter, seeing as I remember you being a bit of a bully to those less fortunate then us." Nathan said causing Carter to frown.

"Yes, I'm deeply ashamed of my past behavior." Carter nodded.

"So, Nathaniel now that you're back, what are your plans? Will you be taking a job with Queen Consolidated?"

"Not, yet. Walter has been doing a fine job, and once I'm fully caught up and learn every little detail my family's company has had a hand in, then I'll be taking over. But for now, I've settled for writing a book series and opening a nightclub."

Moira didn't know how to feel about Nathan wanting to dig deep into the company as he might something he shouldn't(Like Walter did), but she was surprised to hear about the book series.

"Really a book series? I'm sure it'll be a good read." Carter said.

"My publisher thought so." Nathan nodded.

"Wait you were already published?" Thea asked.

"Yeah, she published three of my manuscripts, Loveless, Make Out Paradise, and Chronicles of the Shinobi." Nathan said before his attention went to Lyla.

"Sir, your liquor distributor's on the line." Lyla said, before she leaned in and whispered into his ear "First Bank of Starling was hit two minutes ago."

"Sorry, I'll be quick." Nathan said to the others before he stood up and walked out of the room.

"If their M.O. holds, they made their escape underground. First Bank of Starling is located above water tunnels. The entrance is located here." Lyla said handing Nathan her phone with a map.

Nathan nodded and created a clone that secretly exited the building with Lyla, as Nathan turned around and walked into Moira "Nathan, what's going on?"

"Everything's fine mom, let's go back to entertain the snobs." Nathan smiled as Moira smiled and linked her arm with his and the two walked into the dining room.

Underground

The Reston men dropped down from the hole, and rushed to their meeting point, but paused when they saw Nathan walking toward them in uniform, and immediately Kyle opened fire, but Nathan was in his face with a elbow sending him flying back, before Nathan bent back when the other two shot at him, dodging the bullets before he kicked Derek in the jaw, and punched Teddy in the center of his mask causing it to shatter, as the two men went down dropping their bags of money.

Nathan looked over his shoulder, before he quickly grabbed the bags of money, and vanished like a ghost as the Reston men, got up noticing the vigilante and their money missing quickly they all ran off when cops arrived, as the bags of money would be found on the desk inside the bank.

Later

"Who the hell was that guy?" Kyle asked upset as he held a bag if ice to his bruised jaw.

"The local vigilante. Goes after rich guys."

"Clearly, he's branching out." Kyle glared.

"Things have gone sideways lately. That hood guy. Kyle shooting a cop." Kyle's mom said.

"You're the one warned me he was a cop." Kyle said.

"So you would take his gun, not shot him."

"Your mother has a point." Mr. Reston said "Maybe this is a sign we need to hang it up. Head for Mexico. Retire."

"No, we don't have enough. We said that we wouldn't quit until we had enough to set ourselves up for life." Teddy said wiping his bleeding nose.

"The kid is right, we need to hit another." Kyle said frowning

"We can make do. We'll be okay." Mr. Reston sighed

"I didn't spend five years risking my life and my freedom to just be okay." Kyle said walking up to his dad and glaring at the man "No, set for life. That was our deal."

"Okay. One more. And then we're out." His father relented.

 **"Aren't you, supposed to be the king?"**

The Reston family jumped and looked to see Nathan sitting on the hood of their getaway van,

 **"Let's make this easy, put your hands up, and none of you have to be sent to the hospital."** Nathan said

Nathan was answered by Kyle moving to pick up, his Ak47, and retorted by appeared over the man and stomping on his head into the ground and applying pressure till he went slack, before he dodged gunfire from the other Reston family before he appeared behind Teddy and a chop to the back of the kids neck knocked him out.

Mr. and Mrs. Reston shot at Nathan, who took cover behind their van. He fired an arrow into the sky, which gave off an intense light that blinded the parents.

" **You both are terrible parents."** Nathan said before he knocked them out.

SCPD

The cops rushed outside as pictures were being snapped of the Reston family who were still unconscious but we're dangling from ninja wire their gear, and money as well as a recording of their talk being tied to them as well.

One day later

Noon

Giggling and moaning could be heard inside of Chien Na Wei's mansion. It was, of course from her bedroom. Two figures were rumbling under the sheets and after a moment, Chien and Nathan's heads came out of the bed, sweating pouring down their heads after 3 hours of non-stop sex.

"Now, _that_ was something to give thanks for." Chien quipped, referring to the fact that Thanksgiving was the next day.

"Well, we haven't seen each other in a while. I wanted to make sure you know I how much I love and appreciate you." Nathan said as he kissed her left eye, "And I love," he kissed her right eye, "and appreciate you," he finished by French kissing her, "very much."

They stared lovingly into each others eyes for a moment, before Nathan said, "I don't really know when we'll have a chance to see each other again, so I wanted to give these to you early." He pulled and reached down to the base of the bed where he pulled up a few gifts.

He presented the first gift. It was a necklace in the shape of a Chinese dragon. There were diamonds embedded along the dragon's body. "I saw this the other and I hoped you might like it."

She took the necklace and tried it on. Chien definitely liked this, especially since dragons were her favorite animal. "I love it."

Nate smiled and handed her another small box. This one was a white crystal necklace that was bound by a brown leather cord. It looked like it was handcrafted. **(Shodaime's Necklace, just that it's white instead of green)**. "Now I know you love the color white, so I handmade this with a white moonstone that I found during my travels."

Chien, naturally liked it when she tried it on, "You're spoiling me rotten today, lover." She teased him with a smirk.

"Yeah, but you know you love it when I spoil you, both in and out of bed," Nate replied with a smirk of his own.

"Keep it up, handsome, and you'll be getting an early Christmas present of your own." She said.

"Well, in that case, I had better had you your final gift." He said as he pulled out his final gift. He handed her two Karambit daggers. "I know how you love Karambit daggers, so I got you this pair, which is made with a titanium steel alloy."

Chien happily gave him a deep french kiss, before she pulled away. "I have something for you as well." She over to her side of the bed and pulled up two items.

"Earlier this year, my men went to Lian Yu and found the Shin Gunto you used while there and I had them restore it." She handed him the Imperial Japanese Katana. She then placed two swords on the bed.

"I remember when you had told about your time on the island, about the one who first trained you. How you took a liking to the swords he used." Nathan pulled out of it's sheath, seeing that it was designed the same as the blades Slade and Nathan had used while they were on Lian Yu.

He marveled at it for a moment before he put it back. He placed his hand on Chien Na Wei's cheek and stroked it affectionately as he gave her a long, tender kiss on the lips. "Thank you, Chien. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Then show me," Chien said to him as she climbed onto his lap and straddled him, "I want you to fuck me for rest of the day. Our final gift to each other."

"Ahh, I've turned into a nympho, haven't I?" He asked.

"With your stamina, and that monster between your legs, you could turn even a lesbian into a straight nympho. So, you up for it?" she didn't even have to wait 5 seconds as he plunged his hardened cock back into, eliciting a loud moan from the white haired woman.

"Always," he said.

 **Finished**

 **Next Time: Muse of Fire**


	7. Chapter 7 - Muse of Fire

**AN: So I realized something I did not make a mention of. The time that passed between the end chapter 5 and 6 was 1 month. SO that is why Lance is back on detective work.**

 **Also, no Thea or Moira in the harem.**

 **Chapter 7 Muse Of Fire**

 **Chapter Start**

It had been a week since Nate had dealt with the Royal Flush Gang, which made today one month since he had brilliantly humiliated Detective Lance, and got him suspended from any detective work for a month. In the last week, he had been taking it easier. Hell, the only guy on the list he had gone after this week was Leo Muller, a German Arms dealer that sold high-end weapons to mobs. His arms, along with the rest of him, were now 6 feet in the ground. Nathan had been trying to spend more time with his mom and sister, if for no other reason than to show them that he is trying to open up to them .

Speaking of the Royal Flush Gang, he had found the 300 million dollars that they had stolen throughout the US and Canada. He had secretly sent all the money in the US Banks back but he had no idea about where they had stolen it from and how to get the $20 Million they had stolen from Canada back without causing a bunch of noise, so he decided to keep it for himself, sort of rainy day/ Vigilante fund.

Currently, he was riding toward Queen Consolidated, riding his Harley Davidson 883 Iron that had blue highlights on the Fuel Tank, rear fender, and front fender. Nate was wearing a Black John Varvatos Moto Jacket over a gray v-neck T-shirt, with a dark blue Levi's 514 Jeans, and Black Frye Harness 8R Boots. He was also wearing Wiley X Boss Sunglasses.

While driving, his Bluetooth Earpiece went off and he answered it, not stopping, "What?"

"Hi. Mom said I'm supposed to remind you to pick her up for lunch." Thea said.

"Yeah I know , I'm heading over there right now," He said as he turned a corner.

"Wait, are you still driving?" Thea asked.

"You know, Thea. This might shock you, but my memory is not that bad. I am trying to open up more. I'll see ya later, love you." He said as he hung up on her ignoring her question.

 **Queen Consolidated**

Moira and Paul Copani, a top earner for Bertinelli Construction(One of several Mafia organizations in Starling), were walking outside the building.

"Mrs. Queen, all I'm asking for is a chance to sit down and discuss our proposal. " Paul said, as he was trying( and failing) to secure the contract for his boss to build the new building for the Queen Consolidated Applied Sciences division.

"Hmm? If that's all it is, then I can save us both the time. It's rejected." Moira wasn't a fool, she knew who Paul Copani worked for. She was NOT getting in bed with the Bertinelli crime family.

"I see. May I ask why?" Paul asked, playing it off as if his boss wasn't mafia.

"Do I really need to answer that, Mr. Copani?" Moira deadpanned before she noticed her son pull up and wave at her.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm meeting my son for lunch." Moira said, dismissing the man.

Nathan smiled at his mother from across the street but then he heard tires squeal. He noticed a motorcycle driver in all black with a helmet covering his face, so he couldn't see who it was. The driver pulled out a Beretta and when she went off road and into the sidewalk, Nate's eyes widened as he realized the guy was performing a drive-by.

"Mom, look out!" He shouted, causing his mother and Paul to turn. Thankfully Copani was in front of his mother and took all the bullets that were fired. Paul fell to the ground dead while Moira fell back and hit her head. Once the hitman raced off, Nathan rushed over to his mother.

"Mom? Are you okay?" Nathan asked frantically as he held her head.

"I'm all right." Moira groaned out.

"Are you hurt?" He asked.

"No, I'm-I'm—" Moira stammered.

"You're hurt, Mom. I'm not taking a chance." Nathan said as he pulled out his phone. "911, what's your emergency?" "There's been a shooting, I need an ambulance to Queen Consolidated, now!"

 **Later at the Hospital**

Moria woke up after her CAT-Scan to see her son and daughter "Hi mom. How do you feel?" Nathan asked.

"I'm fine. I'm fine." Moira assured her children as she gave them a hug.

"Did you reach Walter?" Moira asked.

"No. I'm sorry." Thea said.

"As I was telling your son and daughter Mrs. Queen, the CAT-Scan showed a grade two concussion but that's it." The doc said, "You'll be able to go home so long as someone stays with you just to make sure there are no after effects."

"Thank you, doctor." Nathan said shaking his hand. He turned back to his mom and said, "I'm gonna go get the car ready. We'll have you back in your own bed soon, mom." As he walked down the hall, Detective Lance and Hilton appeared.

"Detectives." He greeted. "Do you have any leads on the shooter?"

"Not yet." Hilton said. "Did you get a good look at him?" he asked. Nathan shook his head.

"No. He was wearing a helmet."

"Don't worry. We'll find him." Hilton promised.

"My head of security is on her way." Nathan continued. "I want to make sure there are men outside my mother's door. She needs to be protected."

"Well, you know your family's at the tippy-toppy of my list of priorities," Lance said sarcastically, "but the guy that she was with was connected, mobbed up to the eyeballs connected. She wasn't the target." Nathan looked at the man, and then walked past the cops down the hall. "And you're welcome." Lance finished needlessly.

 **The Arrow Lair**

Nathan was taking out his frustrations on a training dummy.

"Nate, your mom was nearly killed." Lyla said, coming into the lair. "I think you can take a day off from training."

"My mother wasn't the target." Nathan said, moving away from the dummy and dropping to his chair at the desk. "This man was." He indicated a picture on the screen as he drank some water. "Paul Copani. He was trying to close a deal with her when they were shot at. Copani works for Bertinelli Construction aka Frank Bertinelli."

"The mob boss?" Lyla asked.

"I did some digging." Nathan said. "Copani isn't the first member of Bertinelli's inner circle who's been hit in the last month."

"What else did you find?" Lyla asked.

"Bertinelli has a lot of enemies. The best way to figure out who's trying to take down his organization is to get inside of it." Nathan sat back in his chair as Lyla continued to stare at him.

"So let me get this right, Nathan." She began. "Your mother's shot at, nearly killed, and the way you process this emotionally is by going undercover with the mob? Are you sure you don't want tot just take some time off to there for her?"

"I am not trying to process this emotionally." He started, his frustration finally showing. "I want to be honest with my family, Lyla. I really do but they wouldn't understand nor would they accept me. Thea might say that she's cool with it, but I don't believe it for a second. I can't very well explain to them that I'm not only fast enough to run down the attacker, but strong enough to beat him to death with his own motorcycle."

He turned back to the computer. "But what I can do is protect my family. And, Lyla, when I find out who this guy is, I'm gonna crush his skull like an egg." He walked out of his lair and turned the corner, only to see Shado, still as she was before she died in his arms. She nodded and he continued onward, her form fading into the mist. **(1)**

 **Storage Unit Downtown**

The rider rode the damaged Harley in, the rolling door closing behind her. She got off the bike and went up to a corkboard filled with pictures and, taking a sharpie, put an X through Copani's. The woman pulled off her helmet to reveal the face of Helena Bertinelli, and she stared at the picture of her father, loathing in her eyes.

 **Queen Manor**

 **Next Night**

Thea was dressed to kill, walking down the stair when she heard, "Speedy!"

She looked over to see Nathan, dressed in a black business suit, walking down the opposite stairs. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, his tone having a ' _Don't you dare lie'_ tone to it.

"Clubbing." She replied then continued with a quip. "Which is difficult to do when you're in a house and not in an actual club."

Nathan had a look that implied he didn't really care and said. "I have a business meeting to go to. Somebody needs to watch Mom while I'm gone."

Thea stared at her brother. "I thought you were taking the night shift."

"I did night shift last night and day shift today. Don't get the wrong idea, I love mom, but I'm trying to start a business here, and I can't exactly do that if I'm watching our mother when you are supposed to be watching her. " Nate said Tommy walked in the door.

"Oh, nice dress." He complimented her. "Where you headed?"

"Upstairs. Apparently." She ground out as she turned and walked back upstairs.

Tommy looked to Nathan.

"Long story." Nathan whispered, heading into the sitting room to get his car keys.

"Hey, I heard about your mom." Tommy started. "Is she all right?"

"She's resting upstairs. More shaken up than anything." He smiled tightly at his friend. "I got to run to this business thing, but I do appreciate you stopping by, man."

"It's no problem." Tommy assured him. "Just so long as your mom's all right."

"Yeah." Nathan nodded, walking past him.

"Hey, one more thing." Tommy said, stopping Nathan in his tracks. "Mainly because I don't want you to find this out from someone else, that someone else especially being Laurel." He paused for a moment, gathering his courage. "We're going to dinner. As in a date." He clarified.

"Good." Nathan finally said, a smile plastered on his face. After all, even though Nathan loved Laurel, he wasn't ready to try to have a relationship with Laurel, because of his alter ego, his 5 years of hell that he was slowly healing from, and the fact that she wasn't ready to be a part of his world yet. "Laurel deserves someone special, and so do you."

Tommy smiled. "Thanks, man."

"I gotta get going or I'm going to be late to my meeting." Nathan said, heading out to his car.

"All right. Absolutely. I'll catch you later." Tommy said.

Nathan paused and turned back to his friend. "Oh, and, Tommy, if you hurt her, I'll rip your throat out…with my teeth." He said deadpanned with a dark glare, scaring Tommy. Then he smiled. "I'm just messing with ya, man. You two have fun." Tommy let out a laugh of his own as Nathan left.

 **Bertinelli Mansion**

Nathan rang the doorbell, and moments later a man opened the door. It was Frank Bertinelli. Nathan smiled.

"Mr. Bertinelli." He said with a smile, extending his hand.

"Call me Frank." He replied, shaking Nathan's hand and leading him into the house.

"Call me Nathan." He countered with a smile.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet me at my home." Frank started.

"My father used to say that living rooms make the best conference rooms." Nathan said.

"Oh, I'm gonna steal that." Frank said with a small laugh. He indicated a tall gentleman standing nearby. "Nick Salvati, my associate."

"How do you do?" he said, shaking the man's hand.

"Let's have a drink." Frank said, leading the way into the study. As they walked, movement from upstairs caught Nathan's eye. He looked up to see Helena walking past the stairs. Their eyes met briefly before she moved on. He couldn't help but notice she had a dark gleam in her eyes. A gleam that was similar to the one he saw in his own eyes whenever he looked in the mirror.

 **Same Time**

 **Queen Mansion**

Thea and Moira were in Moira's bed in their pajamas, with Thea controlling the remote while Moira flipped through magazines.

"So what are you in the mood for?" Thea asked her mother. "We could watch reality housewife cooking show… or cop docs." She looked at her mom and explained, "It's where doctors run around fighting crime when they're not all sleeping with each other."

Moira laughed lightly. "Whatever you want, sweetheart. You're the one who's given up your evening out."

"Oh, it's not like there's anybody else who could be staying with you." Thea said, then she gasped in mock surprise. "Oh, wait, yes, there is."

"Thea," Moira, "Cut your brother some slack."

"Why? Aren't you tired of the lies he tells?" Thea asked.

"Thea, everyone has secrets." Moira began. "We all have things that we want to keep to ourselves."

"I just don't get him sometimes." Thea groused. Moira pulled her closer. Thea leaned her head against Moira's shoulder.

"I know, I know." She affirmed. "You know, being in that hospital and seeing Dr. Lamb again, it made me remember the day that Nathan came home. It was Dr. Lamb that told me that the Nathan we'd lost might not be the Nathan that they'd found. Nathan brought that to my attention when he declined to take over Queen Consolidated" She explained. "I think it's easy to forget, but he lived in complete isolation for 5 years."

"So what, he gets like a free pass?"

"No. No, no, no, not at all. I just think we need to stop judging him for the Nathan he was and start accepting him for the Nathan that he is. I think that after living in isolation for 5 years of his life, it's difficult for him to let people close. Besides, he has been getting better and I know there are moments with you where acted like his old self. We just need to be there for him. When he's ready to open up, he'll tell us." Moira said softly.

 **Bertinelli Mansion**

"So, Nathaniel, I'll be honest with you." Frank was saying, handing Nathan some bourbon. "I was surprised to hear from you. It was my impression from the local news that you weren't going to be involved with your family's business."

"Well, apparently there were a few catch phrases that I missed while I was away for 5 years. One of them being ' _Fake News'_." The three men laughed. "The press never gets anything right."

"Oh, I know a thing or two about that." Frank assured the man. Nick's phone rang, and he got up to answer it. Frank leaned back in his chair and stared at Nathan confidently. "So, Nathan, I'll be blunt. I want the contract to build Queen Consolidated's new Applied Sciences Division."

"And I am inclined to give it to you." Nathan assured him.

"Your mother wasn't quite so enthusiastic." Frank noted. "How is she, by the way?"

"She's alright, Nothing serious or life-threatening, and is currently recuperating at home." Nathan said. "Thank you."

"What a terrible thing that happened." Frank said, almost sounding sincere. Nathan nodded.

"And, Frank, I was very sorry to hear about what happened to Paul Copani."

"Paul was a good friend." Frank stated. "He was a good man." He sighed, rubbing his eye. "Yeah. The violence in this city. You know, sometimes I wonder why I stay." He said, taking a drink. He was putting up a front obviously, and Nate saw right through it, but gave no indication of his thoughts.

"I've had the same thought." Nathan confided.

"So why did you come back?" Frank asked. "After that island, you could have settled anywhere in the world."

"Because Starling City is my home." Nathan replied simply. It was true, after all. He could have ignored the corruption in the city, but he loved the city that he grew up in.

"Chi si volta, e chi si gira, sempre a casa, va finire." Helena said, entering the room. "No matter which way you go or turn, you always end up at home." She translated. Nathan and Frank rose.

"Nathan, this is my daughter Helena." He introduced.

"Hello." Nathan said with a smile. Helena gave him a polite smile.

"Nice to meet you." She said, and then turned to her father. "I'm heading out."

"All right. Take one of the guys with you."

"I can take care of myself." She protested.

"I wasn't asking, sweetie." He replied, touching her lightly on the chin, the subtle threat clear to everyone present.

Before she could argue further, Nick came back in.

"Frank, that meeting you requested. They can do it." He told his boss, giving him a significant look. "Now."

"I can come back another time." Nathan started, but Frank shook his head.

"No, no, no." he put his drink down, and then looked at his daughter thoughtfully, getting an idea. "Just, uh.. just excuse us for a moment, would you? Thank you."

Frank and Helena walked out into the Foyer, followed by Nick. "Nathan Queen." Helena harrumphed. "The rich man's Lindsay Lohan."

"Look, um…" he started, "I've got to go to this other meeting, but I need someone to take him to dinner."

Helena gave him a disgusted look. "So you pimp out your daughter."

"No. I ask her to help me close a business deal." He countered. "A reminder that the family business is dying and that we need this contract, and Nathan Queen is the only one who can give it to us. Please, Sweet Pea. For us. For me. Hmm?" she finally gave him a reluctant smile. "That's my girl." He said warmly. Just then Nathan walked into the foyer. "Nathan, I'm so sorry. Something has come up. But Helena would love to take you to dinner and discuss the deal further." He said, indicating his daughter.

"Oh." Nathan didn't try to hide his disappointment. "I was hoping to speak with you."

"Well, as you speak for your family, my daughter also speaks for ours."

"It's…It's really not necessary." He looked curiously at Helena. There was an attraction there, and possibly something deeper. A look deep in her eyes that he recognized and that she, in turn, recognized in him.

"It would be my pleasure." She lied.

"Sure." Nathan finally agreed. Frank held out his hand, and Nathan shook it.

"I look forward to working together." He told the younger man, patting him on the arm as he and Nick left.

 **Bertinelli Construction Yard**

 **Later**

China White and her associates got out of her Mercedes and walked up to Frank and Nick, who stood waiting.

"Thank you for coming."

"Anything for a friend." China White replied. Zhishan spoke in Mandarin, and she translated. "We're not responsible for the attacks on your people."

"These attacks on my business, on my family's life blood. They need to stop now, or I'm coming for you." He threatened. The four stared at each other for a moment before the two Asians headed back to their car.

"What does the Triad have to gain by provoking you now?" Nick asked Frank, honestly no seeing any benefit to that. Frank shrugged.

"Well, no one ever credited the Triad with rational thinking." He noted, and then asked "If it isn't them, then who? Whoever it is, when I find out who's behind this, there will be blood."

 **Russo's**

The owner, Mr. Russo sat Nathan and Helena at a small table in the corner and passed them menus.

"You are an angel, Helena." Mr. Russo gushed. After all, it would not do to insult the daughter of the man he pays protection money to, "So beautiful. Well, we are gonna take good care of both of you tonight. You'll tell your father hello from us?"

Helena smiled at the man. "Of course, Mr. Russo."

"I'll give you a minute." He said, moving away.

"Thank you." Helena said. She looked at Nathan. "I heard about your mother's accident. Is she gonna be okay?" she asked.

Nathan smiled, picking up his menu. "She's gonna be fine. Thanks."

"I'm glad." She said sincerely.

They both took a moment to look at their menus. "So, why would you want to go into business with my father?" she asked suddenly. "You know who he is and how he made his money."

"You don't approve of your family's enterprises?" he asked.

"We share a name, and that name defines us whether we want it to or not." She gave him a brittle smile. "You've already made judgments about me, just like I've already made judgments about you."

"Right. I'm the rich man's Lindsay Lohan." Her smile now looked apologetic. He tapped his left ear, "Yeah, I heard that".

"Sorry." She apologized.

"Oh, I don't mind. Compared to what I used to be called, that's pretty tame," He assured her.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" she asked suddenly after a moment of silence.

"Sure," Nate said, noticing how she fiddled with her necklace.

"I know it must have been hell for you, alone on that island for 5 years, but I'm…"

Nathan looked at her curiously. "But what?" he prodded.

She looked at him, a serious look in her eyes. "But was there ever a day when you were just… happy to be away from everything? No pressure from your family, no need to be the person everyone else expects you to be. Was there ever a day when—"

"When I didn't feel like I was in my own personal brand of hell and I just felt free?" he finished. She nodded slightly. "More than a few times." He admitted. "And those are the days that I miss the most." Helena smiled and took a sip of her water.

An hour later, the restaurant was empty, all other tables cleared. But Nathan and Helena were still sitting, chatting amicably.

"People are always asking me, what did I miss the most?" he was saying. "Air conditioning. Satellite TV. Netflix. Internet. Tagliet-uh-ta—"

"Tagliatelle?" she supplied.

"Yeah, that." He agreed. "But those are the answers that I give people because those are the answers they're expecting."

"Why can't you just be truthful?" she asked.

"How could I tell them truth? They would never accept me if they knew the real truth about me." He admitted, sitting back in the chair, "And honestly, I've grown so used to isolation, that it's just hard to be around people that don't understand me for long periods of time. It's not the kind of thing that can be switched off."

Helena considered the man. "You've been through a crucible, and it changed you." She announced. "How can it not?"

Not knowing how to respond, Nathan just looked at the beautiful woman across from him. A glint from her necklace caught his eye. "That's beautiful." He said, before clarifying, "Your cross."

Here smile was almost a grimace. "It's a gift. From my fiancé."

Nathan smiled awkwardly. "Fiancé."

"I didn't know you were engaged." He began to apologize, but she cut him off.

"I'm not, anymore. He died." She explained sadly.

"I'm sorry." Nate actually meant that. He had fallen into the abyss when Shado had died in his arms all those years ago. It had changed him irrevocably.

"Me, too." She sat back, fingering her cross. "That was my crucible."

Nathan took a sip of water. "You know, it's really nice to be with someone that I can actually be myself with." He said sincerely.

"It's nice to be with someone who knows how hard it can be." She responded, equally sincere.

Suddenly his phone rang. He looked at her apologetically as he pulled out his phone and answered. "Yeah."

"It's Lyla. Something came up. You need to get out of there and call me back." Nathan sighed as he hung up. He looked sadly at Helena, sorry that the night was over.

"Helena, I have to go." He said apologetically, "There's something that I have to do. It's about my mother, otherwise I would, uh, I would stay."

"And I would like that." She admitted. Nathan smiled at her and pulled out a wad of cash. He set it down on the table, but suddenly his hand was covered by hers.

"My father would kill me if I let you pay." He just smiled, withdrawing his hand, but leaving the money.

"I have a confession." Nathan said as he rose. "I didn't originally want to go out with you tonight."

Helena smiled. "That makes two of us."

"But I'm glad as hell that I did." He finished.

"That makes two of us." She replied quietly. He gave her one last look, then turned to leave. "Nathan." She said suddenly, and he turned around. "Be careful with my father." She advised him.

He nodded, then left.

 **Alley**

Nathan quickly called Lyla back. "What happened?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's what's happening right now." Lyla began. "You know Bertinelli's enforcer, Nick Salvati?"

"Yeah. We drank a scotch together. He seems like a real stand-up mobster." Nathan said sarcastically.

"He's been paying visits to everyone who owes the mob protection money."

"Lyla, I'm trying to figure out who took a shot at my mother, not take on the Italian Mafia." Nathan argued.

"Well, Nate, Salvati and his goons have already put 4 people in the hospital tonight," Lyla shot back, "and if somebody doesn't stop them, the guy who owns Russo's is gonna be next."

"Wait, wait." Nathan said, stopping Lyla. "Did you say Russo's?" he asked to clarify.

"It's at the corner of Adams and—"

"I know where it is, Lyla. I'm already here."

That brought Lyla up short. "Well, that was fast."

Nathan grimaced. "It's not like that. I was having dinner with Bertinelli's daughter."

"Nate, the whole point of you going undercover was to find out who took a shot at your mom, not get his daughter into your bed." Lyla scolded.

"I haven't slept with her…yet. Besides, I didn't exactly have a choice."

"Yeah, well, uh, I've seen her on the web. You made quite the sacrifice." Lyla quipped.

Nathan looked down the alley and saw a town car park across the street. He cursed. "Salvati's here. I'll call you back"

Inside the restaurant, Mr. Russo was counting the night's receipts as his daughter finished cleaning up. She was about to lock the doors when Nick Salvati and to other enforcers walked in.

"I'm sorry, we're closed." The girl said timidly. Salvati just gave her a look, and then walked over to Russo.

"Oh, Mr. Salvati. Buona sera." He said nervously to the gangster. "I have some fresh-made lasagna—" he tried, but Nick cut him off.

"We're not here for food, Mr. Russo." He said harshly. "Your payment's due."

"I already made my payment this month." Russo argued.

"You need to pay again." Nick said coldly.

"Please. I can't afford to make another payment if I'm going to—"

"Going to what?" he asked cruelly. He saw several bottle so wine sitting on the bar. "Restock your bar?" he swept the bottles off the bar, and they crashed to the ground sending wine and broken glass everywhere. "Break his fingers." He nodded to one of the men.

"Leave him alone!" his daughter yelled, pulling at the goon.

"Break hers, too." Nick decided. The other goon grabbed the girl.

"No! Don't touch her!" Russo yelled. Suddenly an arrow struck the fuse box, sending the restaurant into darkness. And then Nate was among them, breaking the arm of the goon holding Russo's daughter and knocked out the goon behind him with an elbow, shouting to the Russo's, **"Run!"** They did so.

He turned his attention to Nick, who was trying to shoot him, and didn't see the second gangster start to get back to his feet.

Suddenly the biker was there, opening fire and taking out another goon when one of her bullets hit his leg. She aimed at Nick, but he took cover. Nate threw a shuriken, disarming her, and moved in to attack, and Nick took the opportunity to escape. The two masked vigilantes traded blows furiously; obviously the girl was better trained hand to hand than she was in firearms. But Nate was better by far, and he landed an elbow on her helmet's visor, shattering it. He then took the opportunity to yank off the helmet- revealing Helena underneath. Nate just stood there, shocked, and Helena took the opportunity to escape, leaving the stunned Nathan behind.

 **Foundry**

A frustrated Nathan was pacing as Lyla sat at the computer.

"I don't understand. Why is she targeting her family?" he wondered aloud.

"I don't know. And here I thought you had parental issues." Lyla joked.

"It's not a joke, Lyla." Nathan ground out, his frustration building. Lyla looked at him apologetically.

"You're right, sorry. Jokes aside, what do you plan to do with her? I specifically remember you saying ' _I'm gonna crush her skull like an egg'._ "

"I'm not sure. I don't know the whole story here yet." He defended. Lyla suddenly realized something.

"You're falling for her, aren't you?" Lyla asked.

Nathan sighed, "It a little soon for that. I'm attracted to her, to be sure, but I feel like she is similar to me. She's like me, except darker."

Nate started changing into his civilian clothes. "I'm still trying to figure out how to use this whole situation to my advantage."

"I'm not following." Lyla said.

"There are exactly 3 organized criminal organizations n Starling City: The Triad, The Bratva, and the Bertinelli's aka the Italian Mafia. Through Chien, I have indirect control over the Triad. Bertinelli's organization has weakened considerably due to the deaths of his inner circle. Once Salvati dies, all he'll have nothing left. If I play this right, not only will I have gained more control over how much organized crime happens in this city, I'll have gained another ally."

"I see. Sounds like a plan." Lyla said in acceptance, causing Nathan to look at her, as he figured she would disapprove "Nate, while I do have my morals, I am still a realist, I know it's impossible to truly eliminate crime. The best you can do is control it. But please, be careful. There is no telling what Salvati might do right now."

Nathan looked at her. "I will, and thank you for being so understanding."

 **The Cemetery**

 **Next Night**

Helena sat in its small cemetery in front of a tombstone. Nathan, wearing the clothes he had worn when she had killed Paul, walked up softly behind her, stopping a respectful distance before calling out.

"Helena."

She didn't even turn around. "How did you find me here?" she asked.

"I followed you from your house." Nathan said. He looked at the headstone that read _'Michael Staton'_. "This is your fiancé?"

"Yeah." She replied, laying a single rose at the foot of the gravestone before rising to meet his gaze head on.

"You said that losing him was your own crucible." He started. "That it changed you. You never mentioned how."

"When you love someone as much as I loved him, with all of your heart- you can't just turn that emotion off when they're taken from you. You still feel things as deeply. And if it can't be love that you feel, then," she took a calming breath, "Then it becomes hate."

"Hatred for the ones that took them from you." Nathan stated, voice filled with nostalgia. Helena looked at him with mild surprise, "Yeah, I know a little something about that myself, Helena".

"Nathan, I like you, but you really should stay away from me." She said sadly, walking away.

"Helena?" Nathan called, moving after her. They both stopped suddenly when a van pulled up next to the church. Nick Salvati got out, his gun aimed at Helena's head. "Get in." he demanded, and both Helena and Nathan were ushered into the van by two other gangsters.

 **The Docks**

 **Abandoned Warehouse**

Helena and Nathan were seated on chairs, their hands zip-cuffed behind them.

Helena looked up at Nick with disgust. "My father is going to kill you for this." She said boldly. Nick smiled, then back-handed her, knocking her and her chair over. Nathan looked out the corners of his eyes at Salvati. Helena hit the ground with a grunt.

"I've been wanting to do that for years." Nick snarled, and then indicated to his men to pick her back up. "You spoiled bitch. I knew it was someone from the inside waging war against your father and me. I just never thought it'd be this inside." He held out his hand, and Helena's silver cross necklace dangled from his fingers. "You dropped this at Russo's."

Helena smirked up at the mobster. "You're smarter than I gave you credit for, Nicky." She admitted.

"You're not." He raised his hand to hit her again.

"Hey!" Nathan yelled, getting his attention even as he worked to free himself from the cuffs. "You're a businessman, right? So let's talk business." He began. "I'm a billionaire, meaning I can offer you a lot of money if you let us go."

Nick looked at him with disgust. "This isn't about money, Richie Rich. This is about loyalty."

"And here I thought you were smarter than your boss. Seems you're just a witless brute." Nathan commented and Nick looked like he was about to go over and hit Nathan.

"He's has nothing to do with any of this." Helena argued. Nick whirled to face her.

"Then what the hell is it about?" he demanded.

"My father had Michael murdered." Helena snarled. Nick scoffed.

"Of course he did. He didn't want you to know the truth." He leaned over her and yanked back her hair. "Your rat of a fiancé was gathering evidence. He was talking to the fucking FBI!" He let her hair go and stood. "The love of your life was going to destroy your father."

"You're wrong." Helena denied, though it was for entirely different reasons.

"I found a laptop in Michael's bag, Helena." Nick drawled out. "Everything that could send your father and me to prison for the rest of our lives was on it. That computer—"

"Was mine." She declared, shutting Nick up in surprise. "Michael wasn't the one talking to the FBI, I was." She admitted boldly.

 _"I so did not see that coming."_ Nathan thought in mild surprise.

"You?"

"My father is a monster." She spat. "He doesn't care who he hurts to keep his money and power, and I wanted it to stop."

" _She's just like you."_ Nathan heard Shado's voice as his vision blurred and he saw her kneeling next to him. " _She has had the love of her life ripped from her arms, just like I was ripped from yours."_

"You shot Michael." She said in dawning realization.

"In the chest, so he knew it was me." He bragged, placing the cross back around her neck. He stood and moved back slightly, pulling his gun. "Just like this"

" _Don't let what happened to me happen to her."_ Shado said.

"I won't," Nathan muttered to himself as his Kyuubi eyes showed.

Nathan burst free at that moment, tackling Nick to the ground. His gun skidded away from him. The one goon made to grab Nathan, but he punched him in the face before flipping him around when he saw the other goon point his gun at him. Helena broke free and went after Salvati, kicking his gun away when he attempted to reach it and the two began to fight. The goon with the gun shot at Nate while he used the other goon as a meat shield while maneuvering closer to the goon, before throwing the dead body into goon. Nathan grasped the goons arm and broke it causing him to cry out in pain, before Nathan forced him to his knees with the goons Beretta in his hand, pointed at his head.

Helena dominated her fight against Salvati before she forced Nick back up against a forklift, her hand squeezing his throat.

"You're gonna burn in hell for what you've done!" Nick choked out.

"It'll be worth it." She replied, and then broke his neck. Nate pulled the trigger, killing his goon.

"Helena." Nathan said.

"I didn't have a choice, Nathan." She said, breathing heavily from the fight. "No one can know my secret."

"Yeah I know that. What I meant was are you okay?" Nathan asked.

"I'm fine," She said. Nathan then pulled all three corpses together and covered them with the lighter fluid Salvati had been planning to use on them and lit the bodies on fire. He watched a second before he led Helena out.

 **SCPD**

 **1 hour later**

Hilton was briefing Lance on the latest Bertinelli family murders.

"CSU didn't find anything usable except for the identities of 3 victims." He said, handing the file to Lance. "One of them had a GSW to the chest. The other took a shot to the head."

"So who the hell broke Salvati's neck?" Lance asked rhetorically.

Hilton sighed. "Look, it's been a while since The Hood broke anyone's neck. And I didn't see any arrows lying around."

"We better pray that Frank Bertinelli blames The Hood for this." Lance said darkly. "'Cause if he thinks it's the Triad, Starling City is ground zero to World War III."

 **Bertinelli Mansion**

Helena was just coming out of the bathroom in a robe, her hair wet from a shower, when she paused. "I'd ask how you got in here," she said, "but the Starling City vigilante comes and goes as he pleases, doesn't he?"

Across the room Nathan stood, his arms crossed behind his back, his Kyuubi eyes showing, looking out a window. "What gave me away?"

Helena crossed her arms. "I saw you fight. And I saw your eyes change like they are now. That island changed you in ways that only someone like me could understand."

"Maybe." he admitted. "But I didn't change. The island merely showed me my true self. And now I serve justice to those who are poisoning my city."

"Sometimes revenge is justice." Helena stated. Nathan didn't have a counter for that, since justice and revenge are all about perception. And he had no right to take the moral high road here.

"Your father murdered your fiancé."

"And what did your father do to you?" she demanded. "Isn't the man in the hood fighting to set the wrongs of his father right? We're the same, you and I."

"No, we're not. I'm am fighting to rid my city of corruption, you are trying to avenge the man you loved."

Helena scoffed. "Hiding in plain sight. Concealing our anger with smiles and lies. Pretending to be people that we no longer are." Tears pooled in her eyes. "Don't lie to me, Nathan. You feel the same as I do, I know it."

"Why are you crying?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because I have been alone in my hate for so long, it feels—"

"It feels good, to be honest for once." Nathan finished for her. Nathan cupped her face and gently wiped away her tears. Almost in desperation he pulled her in close and kissed her. After a moment, she responded, clutching him to her tightly, afraid to let go.

 **Chapter End**

 **AN**

 **1: I thought I would add that Nathan does still sometimes hallucinate Shado, due to the Mirakuru**

 **Next time: The Huntress is born  
**


	8. Chapter 8 - Vendetta Settled

**Chapter 8 - Vendetta Settled  
**

 **Helena's Room**

Nathan was spooning Helena, both of them naked and in bed, seemingly asleep. Slowly, Helena opens her eyes. She smiles despite herself, as that had been the best sex she had ever had. She sits up slowly, putting her mind back on task. As she gets out of the bed and moves to get dressed, Nathan silently open his eyes, subtly watching her.

 **Alley in China town**

Helena was riding her bike down an alley, stopping several yards away from a parked Mercedes. She gets off the bike and watches the car, seeing a driver and two men outside acting as sentries.

"Quán qīng." One said into a radio. A moment later, China White appeared. Helena pulled out her gun and took aim. A moment later, the man she truly wanted appeared- Zhishan, the leader of the Chinese Triad in Starling City. Just as she pulled the trigger, Nate dropped down, forcing her gun away from the Asian and causing the shot to go wide.

"Shàng chē!" China White said, pushing her mentor into the car.

"Shāle tā!" he ordered, and the Triad members opened fire. Nathan shot an arrow to give them cover, then forced Helena down an alley. They took cover in a doorframe as the Mercedes sped past, gangsters still shooting. After they had passed, Helena pushed Nathan away.

"Take your hands off me!" she snarled.

Nathan dropped his hood. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" he demanded, his kyuubi eyes blazing with anger.

"That man was Zhishan, the leader of the Triad." She explained. "My father blames them for the recent hits against his men!"

"Those are men you killed."

"That's right." She boasted. "I take out Zhishan and the Triad retaliates. I have weakened my father's organization to the point where there is no way that he can survive their onslaught!"

"What, and then you'll have your revenge?"

"Then I have justice, for what he did to Michael and me." She said passionately.

"It's not justice." Nathan argued.

"And what you do is?"

"Would you let me show you?" he pleaded. She stared at him for a moment, and then sighed.

 **Big Belly Burger**

Nathan and Helena, in civilian clothes, were being handed their order by Carly.

"Get you anything else?" she asked.

Nathan smiled at her. "No, thank you, Carly."

Carly looked at him suspiciously. "Where's my ex sister-in-law? It's late and this is the Glades. Shouldn't she be keeping you safe?"

Nathan nodded towards Helena. "This ones tougher than she looks." He quipped. Carly's gaze narrowed, but she moved off. "I haven't been on a second date in a while. It feels good so far." He remarked, earning a smile from her.

"Look, um," she started awkwardly, "We slept together, and it was really amazing. And I needed it. But I'm not looking for anything."

"Right. Because you have everything figured out." Nathan replied dryly.

"I don't think you're one to judge." She leaned forward. "I saw you kill people, remember?"

"I don't deny that I kill people. I kill most of my enemies, but not all the time. Sometimes I have an ulterior motive or I just don't need to. The point is, killing is not my only move." He argued, "And the way that you're going, you're gonna get somebody innocent killed, like my mother or yourself."

"I really am sorry about almost shooting your mother." She said sincerely. "That was an accident."

"How many more accidents need to happen before you're done getting back at your father?" he asked.

"Hopefully none." She glared at him. "I am not getting back at him. I-I am stripping away everything that has meaning to him, just like he did to me when he had Michael killed."

"What if I could show you a more efficient way, a way you could take down your father's organization without innocent people getting caught in the crossfire?" Nathan asked.

Helena sighed, and then smiled. "Thank you for the coffee and the sex, Nate. But I'm not interested." She gathered her purse and left, leaving a ponderous Nathan behind.

 **China White's Mansion**

 **Next morning**

It was 5 am and the sun was rising, shining down on Starling city. In China Whites mansion, in the master bedroom, Chien Na Wei lay on top of Nathaniel, her beautiful body draped across his as if she were a blanket. The two lovers were cuddling after spending 5 hours of sex.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" China asked.

Nathan looked at the ceiling for a moment before saying, "Okay so you remember that girl I was telling you about? Bertinelli's daughter?" China nodded. "Well, something happened last night. I was trying to recruit her, since through her we can take down Zhishan and instill you as the new leader of the triad, but there is a problem. I…ended up sleeping with her last night."

Nathan waited for China to yell at him or slap him or something, but she only chuckled, "Why are you laughing, babe?"

"Nate, I'm not mad. In fact, this is perfect?"

"Okay, now I'm super confused. You mind explaining?" Nathan said. He figured she would be angry since he hadn't slept with anyone but Chien since they renewed their relationship, so he was confused as to why she wasn't mad.

"This is what I wanted to talk to you about." Chien said, "Look, I consider it a blessing to have met and be loved by you, Nathaniel Queen. But I have always known that deep down, you were never a 1 woman man. Unlike every other male in the world, you are the kind that needs more than one lover to keep you grounded, because 24/7, your hormones are telling you to grab the nearest female and stick your dick in her. At least, with my permission, you won't have to worry about upsetting me."

"…..Are you telling me to go out and get myself a harem?" He asked hesitantly for clarification.

"That is exactly what I'm telling you, handsome. As long as you still love me, I'm totally fine with sharing you with the other women that I know will fall in love with you. And the one-night stands are no big deal either."

"…Okay, fine. But are you sure you will be okay with Helena Bertinelli?" Nathan asked.

"I'd probably wait a while until your relationship has developed a bit more before you drop a bombshell like that on her. From what you've told me, she's real sensitive to being hurt right now. And your relationship wouldn't survive a bomb like that at this point."

Nathan pulled Chien closer to him as he gave a deep French kiss. "Thank you, Chien. You have no idea how much easier this makes things for me."

Chien had a seductive smirk adorning her lips, "Well, I'm always open to being thanked a little more. Care to join me for nice, long bubble bath?" His response was to carry her over to her bathtub.

 **Bertinelli Mansion**

 **3 hours later**

Frank Bertinelli was consoling Dina Salvati, Nick Salvati's widow as Helena walked down the stairs.

"I'm so sorry, Frank." Dina was saying. "The last thing you need is me crying on your shoulder all night. I just can't believe that Nick is gone."

"Dina, look, you and Nicky, you're like family to me, okay?" Frank stated. "And in my family, we take care of our own. Okay?"

"Okay." She said.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Helena said, stopping at the base of the stairs. "Nick was like a brother to me."

Dina gave her a watery smile. Frank kissed her on the cheek and led her to the door. "Hey now, come on." He said, hugging her once more. "We'll talk to you soon." He assured her.

"Okay." She said, walking out of the house. Frank closed the door, and then laid his forehead against the cool wood. "I'm gonna find the son of a bitch who did this." He vowed "And on my life, I'm gonna make him pay." Helena smiled at him in faked encouragement. Before she could say anything, though, the doorbell rang. Frank sighed, turning back to the door. "You know, that girl's always forgetting something." He snarked. But when he opened the door, he was surprised.

"Frank." Nathan Queen said, shaking his hand. "Apologies for dropping by unannounced."

"No, no, no, come on in." Frank said. "It's all right. Come on in." Nathan walked in and shared a significant look with Helena.

"I'm terribly sorry to hear that." Nathan said.

"Thank you."

"Actually, though, I'm not here to discuss business at the moment." He continued, looking past Frank at Helena with smile plastered on his face, who stared back, a friendly smile on her face. Frank looked back and forth between the two, realization dawning.

"Oh. Okay." He said with a smile. "Well, this is, uh this is one merger I won't stand in the way of. Excuse me, sweetie. A father knows when he's not needed." He joked, leaving the two alone in the foyer.

Helena walked down the final stairs, stalking up to him and crossing her arms in defiance. "Was I not clear that I wasn't interested in talking?"

"You don't have to talk." Nate said simply, the opened the door. "All I ask is that you listen." After a moment, Helena grabbed her jacket off the small table by the door and walked out with him.

 **Starling City Cemetery**

Nathan led Helena to a particular pair of graves. It was Oliver's and Sara's.

"Who were they?" Helena asked, staring at the stone.

"My brother. I—" he stumbled over his words. "My brother was dating my best friends sister, and it was getting serious. But back then, he did not do serious well." He paused. "But he was excellent at screwing things up. He started sleeping with my best friend, Sara." His voice began to quake with suppressed emotion. "He started sleeping with his girlfriend's sister. He brought her with us on the yacht. He and I got into this argument and I told him that he was ' _a worthless waste of space who would never amount to anything and was better off dead.'_ That was last thing I ever said to him, because the next time I saw him, he had a pipe sticking out of his chest. And then I watched Sara fall beneath the waves right in front of me."

"Sara was only on that boat because of my actions. You see, before the island, I always pined after Laurel, her sister, and thought that my brother never deserved her, so when their relationship was having trouble, I slept with Laurel. Sara found out about it, and slept with Oliver to get revenge on me. I knew I shouldn't have, but back then, I just didn't care." Helena reached over slowly and took Nathan's hand in her own. "Before the island, I was a scumbag." He admitted. "I was selfish and thoughtless and awful, and it really hurt the people that I loved. I wasn't much better than my brother, to be honest." Nathan slipped his hand out of Helena's and walked to another grave. The grave read ' _Shado'._

"Who is she?" Helena asked.

"There's no one in this grave. Her body is buried on Lian Yu. This is just here to serve as a reminder." Nathan closed his eyes before opening them and saying, "Her name was Shado. She was the first woman I ever truly loved." At Helena's confusion, he elaborated, "I know that I said I loved Laurel and Sara, but at that time, Sara was my best friend and I was too jealous of Oliver being with the woman I wanted to understand why I wanted her, so they don't count." Nathan turned back to the grave. "I wasn't alone on that island. She was on the island as well, looking for her father. The story behind that is too long and complicated to explain right now, so I won't say anything about that yet. She, her father before he died, and another friend we made on the island, helped me survive on the island when on my own, I wouldn't have. Long story short, we fell in love. She was kind, loving, wise beyond her years, and a total badass with a bow and arrow, and I fell hard for her. But then this bastard, Anthony Ivo, came to the island, and he took her from me. He didn't just kill her, he made me choose between her…and Sara."

At Helena's shock, he explained, "I said she fell beneath the waves, I never said she died. I begged Ivo to kill me instead, because I wouldn't choose between my oldest friend and the love of my life. He pointed the gun at Shado anyway and I jumped in the way, taking bullet for her. During the fight that ensued, she got shot and all I could do was comfort her in final moments as she bled out in my arms." A tear escaped his eyes and Helena slowly held his hand again. He saw the hallucination of Shado in the distance before he turned back to the grave.

"I fell into the abyss after that, and I have never been able to crawl back out. Because once you let it in, you can't lock up the darkness. All you can do is embrace it. I thought about what you said last night, about how we are the same. You're right, we are same. Because Helena," He looked her in eye, "Just like I was, you're in a hell of your own."

Helena shook her head. "Nathan, I… I want to let you in. I really do." she said softly. "But Michael was the last man I opened up to. I can't be hurt again."

"I'm not perfect, Helena. I can't promise something like that," He swore. "But I can promise you this. I will try my best not to." She looked back at him, hope blooming on her eyes.

 **Arrow Lair**

 **Later**

Nathan stood next to Helena, who held his bow in her hands. She nocked and arrow and pulled back sharply.

"Uh-uh." Nathan gently chided. "Relax. Relax, relax, relax." He helped her adjust her grip. "Now, pull back gently. You need all 3 fingers to come off the bowstring at the same time." He instructed. "Relax. Breathe." Helena took careful aim at the target. "And release." Helena released the arrow, which sailed past the target, smashing into some bottles behind it.

Helena snarled in frustration. "This is a waste of time."

"I'm trying to teach you something." Nathan said patiently.

"What, the least effective way to shoot people?"

"No, control and precision." He took his bow back. "To use a bow and arrow to the point where it's more effective than a gun requires patience, discipline, control, precision, and practice." In one smooth motion, he withdrew an arrow from his quiver, nocked, aimed and fired, hitting the bull's-eye dead-center.

Helena gave him an impressed look, and then moved over to a work table. She picked up a coffee cup and smirked at Nathan. Then, she tossed it up in the air- and Nathan hit it with his next shot, pinning the cup to the rafters. Amused, she next grabbed an oil can, tossed it up- and it got pinned to the wall. Next she picked up a tennis ball. She was still holding it in her hand when Nathan shot, pushing the ball out of her hand and pinning it to the wall behind her. She gaped at him, impressed despite herself.

Nathan smirked. "I can do this for day's." He said, walking up to her. "It's kind of fun."

"I love a man with stamina." She quipped.

"Our crusades do have something in common." He said, sitting next to her. "Mine started with my father, too.

"He left me with a list." Nathan pulled out the notebook and showed it to her. "There are over 500 hundred names in this list. People who need to be reminded that Starling City isn't theirs for the taking."

"Anthony Venza is in here." She noted, surprised. "He works for my dad. He deals illegal prescription pills." She was looking through the list when Nathan heard the door open. He looked up and smiled.

"Lyla, this is Helena." He told his bodyguard unnecessarily as Lyla walked in. She looked amused by Helena's presence. "Lyla's my, uh… Associate." He explained.

"Well, any associate of Nathan's is a friend of mine"

"Same here." Lyla nodded. "Could Nathan and I have the room for a moment?" She requested.

Helena looked at Lyla, then back at Nathan. "I'll leave you to- associate." She told Nathan, Getting up and walking off past Lyla into the Foundry.

"You move fast" Lyla noted after she left. "I figured you wouldn't start sleeping with her til after she joined."

Nathan looked offended. "Well, I don't think who I sleep with is any of your business, Lyla. We aren't in a relationship."

"It became my business when you let me stay as your partner." Lyla pointed out. "And when I signed on, I told myself I was going to make sure you don't go too far like you did with Clayborne."

"You really going to lecture me about Clayborne?" Nathan asked with his teeth grit, "He deserved it!"

"I'm not saying he didn't deserve to die, I'm just saying maybe going all Bolton on him was a little much." Lyla said, sighing before she continued.

"Look, ignoring Clayborne, it's my job to be suspicious of people entering your orbit that might be a flight risk. I'm not telling you to not help her, Nate. Just be careful not to set her off, because as she is now, one wrong move and she'll turn against you." Lyla left the lair while Nathan was left to ponder.

 **Arrow Lair**

 **Later**

Helena walked in and smiled at Nathan. "Where's your friend?" she asked.

"Just the two of us tonight." He replied.

"Oh, really? And what did you have in mind?" she asked, coming up to him.

"A hands-on lesson."

Realization dawned on her face. "We're going after Anthony Venza?" she asked.

"Yes." Nathan confirmed. "But we're doing it my way." He continued. "Your father loses a piece of his organization, but no innocents get hurt in the process." He nodded towards a large wooden box sitting on the table.

"What is it?" she asked, walking over to the box. Nathan followed.

"I explained to you that guns are weapons of emotion and unpredictability, but since it will be awhile before you're an expert at archery, this will have to suffice for now."

She opened the lid and inside the box, lying on a bed of purple silk, was a small automatic crossbow pistol. "I like it." She said.

"You can't go out like that." Nathan noted. She smiled at him.

"Why? You got a spare hood?" she joked. He led her over to his computer and pulled up a special program. She looked at the design shown on the screen in awe. "Does it come in purple?" she asked. With a few clicks of the mouse, she gasped. "I like purple." She told Nathan, smiling at him.

 **Warehouse**

 **Later**

Dozens of people were busy repackaging prescription pills to sell on the streets.

"This isn't crack." Anthony Venza was saying to a client. "Anyone can sell crack. All you need's a street corner and a hoodie." He held up a small baggie. "This is pharmaceutical grade Oxycodone." He explained. "It's caviar. It is champagne. And you sell this in fancy houses; at parties with rich kids that got money to burn." He laughed.

Then suddenly the lights went out.

He looked over at one of his guards. "Check it out!" he ordered. The man drew his gun and cautiously made his way up a set of stairs to the second level. A moment later the sounds of punches could be heard, followed by the man's gun flying back down, landing on the floor near Venza. He picked it up, looking around. "Whoever you are, you really think you're gonna get out of here in one piece?"

 **"I was thinking the same thing."**

Venza looked up to see Nate standing on the upper floor. **"Anthony Venza –"** he started. Then Venza saw something move out of the corner of his eye and spun to see a woman, dressed in black and purple body armor, a long coat, and a mask holding a crossbow pistol.

 **"You have failed this city."** She finished, her voice modulator turned on.

Nate fired a flashbang arrow into the air. On impact it exploded into a blinding flash of light. The two vigilantes jumped down and proceeded to wipe the floor with both Venza's men and his clients, who foolishly tried to fight back. Venza, for his part, decided discretion was the better part of valor and fled. He made it to the door before a bolt slammed into the handle, jamming it. He turned to see the Huntress stalking towards him, crossbow pistol pointing at his throat.

"Please!" he pleaded. "Just don't hurt me!"

 **"Aww."** Helena tilted her head, an evil smile on her lips. **"How about just a little?"**

A short time later, Nathan and Helena watched from the roof as Venza and his men were led, limping, out to waiting police cruiser. Nathan looked at Helena.

"Millions of dollars' worth of illegal drugs confiscated, a massive blow to your father's criminal proceeds, and nobody needed to die." He said. "A perfectly efficient takedown." She looked back down as Venza was put into a cruiser. "What do you think?"

"I think… this feels good." She said after a moment's pause. Then she smiled at him. "And not just the helping the city part." They both leaned in to kiss.

 **Bertinelli residence**

 **1 hour later**

Frank was sitting at his bar, drinking scotch as he watched the news. _'Anthony Venza was arrested last night. The police confiscated a warehouse full of illegal prescription drugs with a street value estimated in the millions. Several unconfirmed witnesses reported seeing the Starling City vigilante leaving the scene with another unknown accomplice, possibly a woman._ ' He finished the scotch, then threw his glass down behind the bar, shattering it.

Helena walked into the room and slowly came up to her father. "Bad year? The scotch, I mean." She asked.

"Yeah." He said tiredly, taking her hand in his. "Sorry, another business setback." He leaned back and looked her over. "Wow. You look beautiful." He stated. "Nathaniel Queen?" at her smile, he chuckled. "Oh, it's nice to see you happy again. It's been too long."

His cell phone rang. Sighing, he answered it. "Yeah?" hearing the voice on the other end, he turned away from his daughter. "Yeah. Yeah, I heard about Venza. Yeah, I know where that leaves us!" he slammed the phone down on the bar. He looked up to see Helena walking out of the room. What he didn't see was her satisfied smile.

 **Later**

After a successful first night of working as partners, Nathan wants to celebrate with his new girlfriend Helena aka Huntress by taking her out tonight. Arriving at the restaurant, Nathan saw Tommy and Laurel already there. Nathan suddenly had a gut feeling that things would go south real quick, considering he was already trying to convince Tommy that he was cool with him dating Laurel. Before entering Nathan pull Helena to the side and tells her he needs to make a quick call.

After faking a call for a minute, Nathan returns to Helena and tells her, "Hey, I know I made plans for us to go to this place, but I am not really feeling it anymore."

"Nathan, are you okay?" Helena asks, concern about the sudden change in plans.

"Yes, I just think we should go somewhere a little more simple. I know a place that serves some great desserts, that's if you are okay with that?" Nathan offers, hoping she would agree to it.

Lucky for him Helena smiles and says, "I don't mind at all. I don't always have to go to expensive places to have a good time. But what about your reservation?"

"Don't worry, I already took care of that." Nathan assures, as he sees from the corner of his eyes Tommy and Laurel head into the restaurant.

"Well then, lead the way playboy." She wraps her arm around his and allows him to take her to another spot.

 **30 minutes later**

"This is very good." Helena signs as she ate her piece of chocolate cheesecake with Nathan chuckling a bit at her reaction.

"I told you it was pretty great." While continuing to enjoy his strawberry Sunday, Nathan looks back up and Helena and couldn't keep his self from smiling at the sight he was seeing in front of him.

Helena happens to catch him staring and blushes a little. "What?"

"You're just really beautiful." Nathan confesses smoothly.

Hearing those words touch Helena to where she tries to keep herself from crying. "Thank you Nathan, you are very handsome yourself."

Nathan could tell something was up, "Helena, what's wrong? Did I upset you?"

"It's not you. It's just the last time a man actually called me beautiful was Michael. Anyone else just saw me as a piece of meat and then with everything with my father..."

Nathan pulls his chair right beside her so he could comfort her. As he holds her, letting her cry on his shoulder, Nathan thinks to himself how long has Helena held all this is in?

Remembering his conversations with Chien and Lyla, Nathan decides that he needs to gain Helena's trust fully and help her get closure from Michael's death by putting her father in the grave once and for all.

Noticing his silence, Helena moves and curses herself for crying like that in front of him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to see me like that." Helena likes to consider herself a tough girl who doesn't show off her emotions in public.

"You don't need to apologize for that, there's nothing wrong with showing your vulnerability sometimes. You can do that anytime with me." Nathan proceeds to kiss the tears from Helena's face. The two shares a soft kiss before Nathan takes both of Helena's hands to have a serious moment with her.

"I want this thing developing between us to work. I need to be honest with you about why I decided to switch the location of this date." Nathan tells her.

Seeing him tense up, Helena rubs his hand softy and looks him in the eyes. "I want things to work out between us as well Nathan. I will admit I am scared of getting hurt again, however, I am willing to give you a chance."

"All I ask is that you let me finish explaining before you react." Nathan pleads.

Once she gives him the nod, Nathan takes a deep breath before explaining. "The reason I didn't want to go to the original spot was because I spotted Laurel, who I told you about with my best friend at the place as well. When I came back from the island I discover that two of them became a couple during my supposed death."

Nathan notices that Helena face switch to an angry expression so he kept going before this all blows up in his face. "Now I realized that us being at the same place as them would cause a great deal of awkwardness and I didn't want you to think I still had feelings for her. It is true that I still care for her, but whatever she and I could've had died when I landed on Lian Yu. Plus, she would never understand my double life like you."

Helena expression softens a bit though she still felt a little disappointed inside due to Nathan possibly still having strong feelings for Laurel.

"Helena, you understand me better than anyone close to me. Like you said, you and me are the same and we can protect this city together. The main thing is I just don't want you to feel like I was using you as a rebound girl." Nathan finishes feeling better that he got that off his chest.

Helena processes everything Nathan just told her. "Nathan, I do appreciate your honesty. However, I don't like the fact that your so call best friend is dating your ex lover, like isn't there rules about that type of thing?"

"I think so, but I don't care about that. I glad they found happiness with each other because right now I am focusing on you, not her." Nathan understood how bad that sounded, but at the end of the day he felt that that Tommy would be better suited for Laurel at this point than he was.

Helena bites her lips nervously before softly asking, "So you are sure that you are no longer in love with her?" Nathan nods, hoping that she will believe him because like her, he didn't want to get hurt again for opening up to people.

"Okay, I'm trusting you Nathan. You earned it for being straight with me and not keeping it a secret." Helena gives him her answer.

Nathan smiles at this. "I'm happy to have gained that trust. So, to return the favor I think it's time we make plans to bringing down your father once and for all."

"Really?" Helena eyes went wide not believing that Nathan wanted to take down her father so soon.

"Yeah. Once we take care of that, you'll find the closure you need. What do you say, Huntress?" Nathan questions her with a smirk.

Helena smiles proudly before saying, "Let's do it, Arrow. For Michael, this city, and for us."

 **Triad Safehouse**

 **Docks**

Zhishan was sitting around a card table with three of his men, playing poker, when suddenly the men's phones went off one after the other. One of the men finally answered. "Shénme?"

"Líkāi nàlǐ! Líkāi nàlǐ!" the voice on the other end said frantically. Before the men could do anything, though, The Huntress burst through the door. Instead of her crossbow pistol, she was packing her Glock and she executed two of the three bodyguards. The third tried to fight, but then the Arrow appeared with a Beretta and shot him in the shoulder before taking his gun. The Arrow calmly got up and pointed both at Zhishan, who looked back at her calmly.

"Dāng nǐ xúnqiú bàofù, xiān wā liǎng gè fénmù." He said simply. "Yīgè shì nǐ de dírén, yīgè shì nǐ zìjǐ."

Nate smirked at him. **"My girlfriend doesn't speak Chinese, so I'm just gonna let her assume you said good-bye."** With that, he emptied both guns into the Triad leaders face. Helena knelt next to the wounded guard. **"Tell your mistress that Frank Bertinelli sends his regards."** She said with a smirk, before rising and leaving the safe house with Nate.

 **Bertinelli residence**

Frank was sitting at the bar when he got a phone call.

 _'Boss, we just got word- somebody hit Zhishan. He's dead.'_ The caller said.

Frank sighed. "All right. Then we know what's coming next. Tell everyone to strap up." He ordered, hanging up.

Outside the house, guards were patrolling the ground. One stopped outside the pool and looked around. Spotting nothing, he turned-

Only to have China White pop up behind him, slitting his throat. As the man's body dropped, she looked at her compatriots.

"Bù huì ràng rènhé rén huózhe." she ordered, and the crew moved silently on towards the house. One by one, the guards fell to the silent onslaught _._

The man guarding the door started calling out for guards on his radio, and got no response. "Ricco's not answering his walkie." He called to the man behind him, who had already been taken out. "Check it out." He turned- only to be garroted.

The Triad entered the house. While the rest fanned out on the ground floor, one headed up the stairs. As soon as he reached the top, he was stabbed in the chest with one of Nate's custom ninja swords. The Arrow rushed forward, catching the man before he fell and lowered him gently to the ground. As gunfire erupted downstairs, he headed down to find Frank.

In his office, Frank was running and ducking the fire. He made his way to his safe. He managed to open it, then grabbed Helena's laptop. He closed the safe, and then threw the laptop in his briefcase. He moved to escape when China White caught up to him. She pushed him against a stone pillar and held her knife, ready to slit his throat.

"Frank Bertinelli- this is for Zhishan." She lifted the knife- and it was knocked out of her hand by an arrow. She spun in _'surprise'_ to see Nate, who fired an arrow which she deflected with her other knife. He holstered his bow and pulled out two kunai knives as he began to fight China White, before his back was to Frank and he kicked China away before turning back to Frank.

 **"Run."** Nate snarled, as he went back to ' _fighting'_ China White. The moment he was gone, the two were smirking as everything so far was going according to plan.

Frank ran, ducking and shooting as he struggled to make it out of his house. He made it out onto the yard and started running. He was passing his small duck pond and was halfway to the edge of the property, when suddenly a bolt slammed into his knee. Frank dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. Helena stalked up to her father as he rolled onto his back looking at who had just shot him.

" **How did that feel,** dad?" Helena said as she pulled off her mask and turned her voice modulator off.

Frank looks up in horror to see his daughter walking slowly up to him with a crossbow aiming at him. "Helena? What is this?"

"Payback for Michael. I know you had him killed, Salvati told me. I have been planning this revenge for a long time and now I decide whether you live or die." Helena tells her father feeling the lust for revenge consume her.

"I did it to protect the family! If you really are that stupid to not realize that, then you no longer are consider my daughter!" Frank yells after discovering his ungrateful daughter turn her back on him.

"What kind of daughter would want to have a father who goes around killing the man that she loved!? After he died, I stopped considering myself your daughter anymore, and just bid my time for this moment." Helena aims her crossbow towards his head, with her finger on the trigger, and softly says, "Now you will finally will feel how I felt when everything gets stripped away from you and to find out that your own blood was responsible for the death of your entire world."

Frank grabbed a gun while she was basking and made to fire at Helena, but before he could, an arrow pierced both of his wrists, causing him to cry out in pain as he dropped the gun. Looking to Frank left side, both father and daughter say Nate with his bow extended. " **You didn't actually think I would let you shoot your own daughter, did you?"** Nate said in a mocking way.

"She has betrayed me! She is not my daughter anymore!" Frank shouted like a madman.

" **You have only yourself to blame for that."** Nate said as he walked up Frank and pulled the broken man to his feet as he addressed his girlfriend, " **He would have shot you dead just now, Helena. He's not your father anymore. He's not the father that used to take you to ballet class as a girl. He's not the father that used to take you on ski trips or help you with your math homework. All he is now is just a monster that would kill his own daughter to hold to his power."**

Nathan pulled one of his swords from it's sheathe, and tossed it to Helena, which she caught, " **As long as he lives, he'll haunt and torment you for the rest of your days. End it ,Helena. End this monster that stands before you, and let Michael finally rest in peace."**

For a few moments, Helena seemed lost on what to do as she held her crossbow pistol in one hand and Nate's sword in the other. Finally, she made a decision and holstered her crossbow. She walked up father, tightly gripping Nate's sword, and roared as she stabbed her father in the chest. Frank struggled, holding the sword and trying to say something, but the light left his eyes, and he faded from this world.

At that point, Helena collapses to her knees and burst into tears with Nathan coming behind her to hold her close to him. "It's okay, I'm here."

 **Arrow Lair**

 **Later**

Moving over to the computers, Nate types in a some keys and brings up the news feed showing Frank Bertinelli has been killed due to The Hood and his new partner who they thankfully decided to call The Huntress. At least they got the name right this time.

"You did good, Helena." Nathan said.

"I've been alone for past 3 years of my life. Just having on revenge on my mind, every second of the day. I forget there was more to… living" Helena said "But there's still a darkness inside, I'm broken and nothing will ever fix that."

"Near the end of my third year away" Nathan said, wondering if he wants to open up "I lost a young boy, who became my friend and I tortured the guy who did it for hours. Fled back to Lian Yu afterwards, consumed by darkness."

"Torturing him is what broke you?" Helena asked.

"Initially, yes. Figured you might want to do this" Nathan said, then picking up the open notebook and a pen, hands them to her.

After scratching out her father's name "Why do you have a book full of names?" Helena asked.

"It was my father's, and is why I do this. Spent the last half of my 5th year in mountains of Tibet, training under a wise old man, who taught me how to replace evil with death, and then I began to plan out my mission. It's a long story" Nathan said.

"I am gonna stay in Starling, to continue being a vigilante. This is my home" Helena said.

"Nice to here it." Lyla greeted warmly as she walked in. 'Welcome to the team, Huntress."

"Thanks," Helena said as she and Lyla shook hands.

"I need to get going over to my bunker since the SCPD will have my dad's house locked down as a crime scene for the next few weeks" Helena said.

"You need a ride? Since, I've got to go have a conversation with Tommy." Nathan said.

"No, it's okay. I have something personal I need to take care of as well. I'll see tomorrow" Helena said as her and Nate shared a quick kiss before making her way out.

"Well, it looks like it all worked out in the end. The Bertinelli organization is in shambles, the Triad which your other girlfriend directly controls now controls 60% of Starling city, and you got your self another girlfriend." Lyla said joking at the end.

"All in a days work, Ms Michaels." Nathan teased. Nathan turned back to the computers with hitting a few keys to begin powering them down.

 **An hour later**

Helena pulls the motorcycle up along the fence line then gets off with leaving her helmet on the seat. Sure, she was going to the bunker but there was a stop she had to make.

Climbing over the fence, Helena out of near habit makes her way over to Michael's tombstone and crouches down.

Helena doesn't say anything, just simply remembers back to when one Michel's students overdosed on Tony Dursco's drugs and then at the engagement party, a day later Michel turned down her father's offer to join the family business. Frank had Michel killed that night by Salvati.

It left her in a deep, soul less pit of wanting only revenge which she used to push through the harsh training for the next three years in Italy. Upon returning in early January of this year, Tony Dursco was one of her first kills.

For Micheal, he could finally rest in peace and she would always loved him but she has to move on with her life.

"Good bye Micheal" Helena said before climbing to her feet and walking away.

 **Chapter End**

 **Next time: The Magician and The Arrow face off.**


	9. Chapter 9 - The Magician vs The Arrow

**Chapter 9 – The Magician vs The Arrow**

 **Adam Hunt's Apartment**

Adam Hunt was on the phone, pacing in the bedroom.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." He was saying, taking a sip of the cheap scotch he had bought. "Look, all I'm doing is looking to get something going again. Yeah, I know. I know, but this time—" A loud creak caught his attention, and he turned, looking down the hallway into the living room where a hooded figure stood.

"I have to call you back." He said into the phone, hanging up. He tossed it on his bed. "What?" he asked the silent figure in the shadows, thinking it was The Arrow. "Did you come back for another pound of flesh? You're gonna be disappointed, pal. Thanks to you, I'm—"

He never finished as one, and then three all black arrows pierced his heart. He fell back onto the bed, dead, as the figure in the shadows turned and left.

 **Arrow Lair**

Nathan was training was training Lyla and Helena in Kali knife fighting with combat knives. They moved in a steady rhythm, with Nathan blocking and returning both of the women's shots.

"Nice. Picking up the pace." Nathan complimented.

"I could say the same thing about you." Lyla replied. "You and Helena have crossed 3 names off your father's list this week alone."

"Yeah, well, some of these wimps are just giving it up without a fight now. All I gotta do is pay 'em a visit."

"It seems the vigilante's reputation is beginning to precede him." Helena noted. Nathan changed his pace and caught both of them off guard, tripping Lyla up with a leg sweep and catching Helena's arm and give it a small scratch across the forearm, leaving a scratch. "Ah!" Helena said, more in surprise than in pain.

"Whoo." Nathan let out a breath. "Another round?" he offered.

"No." Helena and Lyla immediately declined. Nathan chuckled and moved out of the training area and sat at the desk. He took notice of his calendar and sat there in silence.

"Oh." Nathan said in surprise, suddenly realizing something. "I didn't even realize until I looked at my calendar. Christmas is coming up."

"That's because you've been logging in so many vigilante hours ever since Helena joined." Lyla said slyly with Helena smirking.

Nathan shot her a look "I meant… there were no holidays on the island." He explained. "Every day was _'How do I stay alive'?_ To do that, you had to forget things, like Christmas. My dad," he smiled, remembering, "threw a party every year, and he would put a Christmas tree in every room. The whole mansion smelled like…" he trailed off, sighing. "It smelled like Christmas."

"Maybe you can give the list a rest and just enjoy the holidays with the family." Lyla suggested. "Besides, I hear St. Nick has a list of his own. I wager you're in the 'nice' column." She got up and patted Nate on the shoulder. "Go home, and spend the holiday with your family, Nate." She said, walking out. Nathan sat back in the chair, thinking about something.

He turned to Helena and asked, "Hey, if I can convince my mom to have our usual Christmas party, do you want to come?"

Helena looked surprised but still happy that he asked, "Yeah, I'd love that. I haven't really been able to enjoy Christmas since Michael died." She walked up to him and sat in his lap, " And if there is no party, just the two of us. Deal?"

Nathan smiled, "Deal". He said and the two shared a passionate kiss.

 **Queen Manor**

Nathan walked in to Queen Manor.

"Hey." He told Thea, who was walking out of the dining room. He kissed her on the cheek. "You look very pretty. What's the occasion?"

"Mom and Walter are having a dinner party with some big muckety-mucks." She let out a bored groan. "Best night of my life."

"Thea, why aren't there any decorations up in the house?" Nathan asked suddenly, noticing how they were lacking. Thea was taken aback.

"What do you mean?" Thea asked nervously.

"No wreaths, no trees, no Christmas lights." He noted. Thea gave a nervous laugh.

"Everyone has just been really busy lately. I'm sure they haven't got around to it yet." She dodged.

"Does mom at least have some of those boxes of candy canes? Remember we used to race to see who'd finish first?" he asked grinning at the memory.

Thea smiled as well. "Yeah. I always won."

"No. You cheated." He argued with a smile.

Thea sighed. "Well, she went sugar-free last year, so I doubt you'll be seeing any of those around." She said, moving off.

Nathan looked after her, sighing as he knew she was dodging the question, and then moved into the dining room. Walter and Moira were at the heads of the table, surrounded by several prominent people; chief among them Police Commissioner Brian Nudocerdo and Malcolm Merlyn.

"The thing that people forget is that Robin Hood was a criminal." Commissioner Brian Nudocerdo was saying as Nathan took his seat.

"And stealing from the rich to give to the poor is really the job of the Democrats." One of the business men joked snidely, to the chuckles of all.

"All joking aside, Commissioner, crime is down for the first time in 5 years." Malcolm noted.

"That's because of the changes my department has implemented." Nudocerdo argued. Nathan internally scoff at this idiot.

"Or perhaps," Walter chimed in, "it's because the vigilante's activities have had a chilling effect on the city's criminals." Nathan internally chuckled at this.

There were murmurs of agreement around the table. Malcolm glanced at Moira, before turning his attention on Nathan. "What are your thoughts, Nathan?" he asked with a smile.

Nathan considered for a moment. "I think," he began, "the vigilante needs a better code name than 'The Hood' or 'Hood Guy'. I mean, they're already calling his partner ' _The Huntress',_ which is infinitely better than ' _The Hood'._ " He joked to everyone's laughter.

"I agree." Malcolm said, considering for a moment himself. "How about _'Black Arrow'_?"

"I think ' _The Arrow'_ works better. More simplistic, ya know." Nathan replied.

Before the conversation could progress, Walter's phone rang. "Forgive me." He said, rising. "It's the office. Excuse me." He left the room to Malcolm's cold gaze.

Walter walked out into the foyer as he answered the call. "I'm in the middle of a dinner party, Ms. Smoak," he said quietly, "So I hope this is of some importance."

At Queen Consolidated, Felicity was still researching the notebook. "I guess that depends on how you define important." She said absently. "See, most people would consider finding a list of names written in subsonic ultraviolet invisible ink important."

"But then I already know that, now, don't I?"

"Did you know 9 of the names on the list are guys the vigilante's had in his crosshairs?" Felicity noted, then mumble, "That is, if bows had crosshairs. Which they don't."

The doorbell rang, and Raisa moved to answer as Walter continued with the call. "Well, it is a rather long list, Felicity, so I would expect there to be some overlap." He said. Behind him, a police officer was let in to the house, and Raisa showed him the way to the dining room.

"Like Doug Miller." Felicity continued over the phone. "Head of Applied Sciences at Queen Consolidated."

"What of him?" Walter asked.

"Mr. Miller may end up getting an arrow in his stocking, because he's on the list." She paused to let that sink in. "So, important or not?"

In the dining room, the patrol man walked over to Nudocerdo and leaned down to whisper in his ear. Nudocerdo listened, and then sighed. He wiped his mouth with his napkin as he rose. "I'm sorry." He began. "Something's come up."

"Is everything okay?" Nathan asked. Nudocerdo looked around the table.

"The vigilante has struck again." He announced. "He just put an arrow in Adam Hunt." He walked out with the patrol man to hushed whispers. Malcolm let a very small, satisfied smile out before carefully schooling his emotions once more.

Nathan reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone. "Oh dear." He said, feigning a call. "I really do need to take this call. It's my lead contractor." He explained to his mother.

Moira nodded. "Of course."

"Excuse me." He said as he left the room. He quickly made a clone and left while the clone handled everything at home.

 **Adam Hunt's apartment**

Nudocerdo walked in and found Lance in the bedroom, looking at the body. Lance noted the Commissioner and began briefing him.

"Well, the daughter came over, used her key, found dad." Lance said. "Hat trick to the chest."

"The Hood guy." Nudocerdo said, but Lance shook his head.

"That's what I thought at first." He began. "But The Hoods arrows are black and red, these all black arrows aren't consistent with his M.O. And neither is the fact that the Hood already took Hunt for $40 million a few months ago. It makes no sense to kill him now." He sighed. "Something doesn't add up. I think we might dealing with a copycat." He stated bluntly. Outside the apartment, The Arrow listened on in silence.

 **Arrow Lair**

 **Next Morning**

Nathan was leaning over a workbench, deep in thought, while Lyla sat at the desk and Helena was practicing a few techniques.

"Who would kill Adam Hunt with an arrow?" Lyla asked, then noted, "I mean, other than you?"

Nathan shot him a look, but quickly frowned. "A setup, maybe." He wasn't sure, but from a distance, they looked like League of Assassin arrows.

"You mean someone looking to cover up killing Hunt by making it look like it was you?" Helena reasoned. Nathan shook his head, confused by the evening's turn of events.

"Whoever he was, he's good." He stated. "The grouping on Hunt's chest was very tight. It's a compound bow, most likely. The guy is a…" he paused, trying to put his thought into words. "The guy's a legitimate archer."

Lyla leaned forward. "So someone who would be particular about his choice of arrows." She began. Nathan jumped on to his line of thought.

"We get an arrow, we get a lead on where he purchased them."

"So what are you gonna do?" She asked.

He considered his options for a few moments. "What anyone does when they need help." Nathan decided, looking over at the man. "Call a cop."

 **Queen Consolidated**

Doug Miller walked into Walter's office; Walter rose and shook his hand.

"Doug. Thanks for coming."

"Of course." Doug replied.

"How is the construction coming along on the Applied Sciences Center?"

"Over budget and behind schedule." Doug laughed lightly. "Exactly as expected." Walter gestured at the chair behind him, and both men sat down. "Is that what you wanted to see me about?"

"No. Adam Hunt." Walter began. "He was murdered last night by the vigilante."

"I read about that." Doug replied somberly.

"I've been concerned by the idea that the vigilante might target an employee or officer of this company." He looked at the younger man. "Security red-flagged you."

"Me?" Dough asked, bewildered. "Why would this guy go after me?"

"Well, that's a point I was hoping you could shed some light on." Walter said.

Doug shook his head. "You got me. From what I've read, this vigilante only goes after white-collar criminals."

"Well, let's just hope he doesn't decide to branch out." Walter said. Looking at the man. Wondering why his name was on that list.

 **Big Belly Burger**

The restaurant was fully decked out for Christmas. Nathan and Thea were sitting in his customary booth, having lunch.

"I think there should be a national holiday for the guy that invented French fries." Thea declared. "Or at least a statue or something."

"There is no longer a Christmas party, is there?" Nathan asked suddenly. At her lack of response, he pushed on. "Thea, dad threw one of these every year. Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice?"

Before she could answer, a young man walked up to the table. "Hi, Thea." He said, eyes only on the girl.

"Hi! Shane." She smiled. Then remembering who she was with, gestured at her brother. "This is my brother Nathan."

"Nice to meet you, Thea's brother." Shane said disingenuously. "I bet the food on that island is better than this stuff they're serving here, huh?"

"You'd lose that bet." Nathan said with a fake smile. This was very annoying. Nathan had only just met him and he was already working his last nerve.

Obligatory introductions done, he turned back to Thea, ignoring Nathan completely. "We're heading down to the bay to hang out if you want to come."

Thea smiled at him, smitten. "Thanks, but I'm spending the afternoon with my brother." She said regretfully, though she cast a warm look at Nathan to let him know she didn't regret it too much.

"Another time." He said. "See ya."

She watched him walk off with a smile. Nathan looked at his sister. "How do you know that Shane guy?" he asked lightly.

"We rob banks and smoke crack together." Thea joked.

"That's funny, yeah." Nathan smirked. "I have a feeling I'm not gonna be a fan."

She looked at her brother, annoyed. "You don't even know him." She scoffed. "Let's change the subject."

"Fine." Nathan said, leaning in. "You were gonna tell me why we're not having the annual Christmas party."

Thea looked at him for a few moments, and then sighed. "When you and dad disappeared," she began, "by the time Christmas rolled around, none of us felt much like celebrating, so we kind of skipped Christmas that year." She paused. "Every year." She sighed shakily. "And it's really fine, so…"

"No. No, it's really not." Nathan said. He sat back and started thinking.

 **Queen Manor**

Nathan was standing in front of Thea, Moira and Walter. "We're celebrating Christmas." He declared. "I was forced to go 5 years without it, and then Thea tells me that you guys didn't have it either and I'm the reason. So maybe now I can be the reason we have Christmas again." He smiled at them "I thought I would throw the Queen Christmas party."

Moira and Walter looked skeptical, Thea looked annoyed. "You?" Thea asked.

"I know that I haven't always been the son or the stepson or the brother that all of you deserve." Nathan stated, looking at each one in turn. "But I am trying here. And this feels like the right moment to start making up for lost time." He said with a note of excitement in his voice. "What do you say?" he asked, looking at his mother.

Moira looked back at him, happiness shining in her eyes. "I say yes."

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "Okay. I will take care of everything. You don't have to do anything. Just show up, look fantastic, and bring some Christmas cheer, okay?"

"Okay." His mother said. Nathan looked expectantly at Thea, who finally rolled her eyes.

"Fine." She groused.

Walter smiled at him. "You're a good man, Nathaniel." He said. Nathan looked back, but his mind thought back to another time someone had said that to him.

 **Flashback**

 _Yao Fei was leading the way through the jungle, while Nathan walked slightly behind, leading Fyers with him._

 _"You're a good man." Fyers was saying to Nathan. "I can see it. Well, beneath the privileged upbringing and the wealthy veneer. I saw it when my man tortured you and you wouldn't give up your friend." He glanced at Nathan. "Not even a friend, really. Someone you just met."_

 _"Shut up." Nathan whispered._

 _"What do you know him?" Fyers continued pleasantly. "Nothing, I suspect. Do you even know what this island really is?" he asked. "It's a prison. I mean this literally. Until 8 years ago, the Chinese military operated this island as a penitentiary for criminals deemed so dangerous, they couldn't be safely incarcerated on the mainland. When the military shut the program down, my unit came in and disposed of all the inmates. With the exception of two. Your friend was one of them."_

 _That brought Nathan up short, and he stopped Fyers in turn. "Who was the other?" he asked, curious despite himself._

 _"You met him." Fyers replied. "He presided over your interrogation."_

 _Nathan looked at the man, pain at the memory etched on his face. "He tortured me."_

 _"You had information I needed." Fyers defended. "What would you do in my position? What would you do to capture the man who slaughtered dozens of people?" Nathan glanced over at Yao Fei, who was looking back at them. Shaking it off, Nathan shoved Fyers onwards._

 _ **Flashback End**_

Malcolm and Moira were meeting on an empty street in the Glades.

"Douglas Miller came to see me today, quite concerned." Malcolm was telling the woman. "He said your husband interrogated him, and his questions suggested a knowledge he shouldn't have of the list."

"Let me talk to him." Moira tried, but Malcolm cut her off.

"I think we're past the point of conversation, Moira." He said harshly. "A month ago you came to me and you told me to stay away from your family, and I did. But your family isn't staying away from me. Which means something must be done about it. Don't you agree?" he asked coldly.

"Yes, I do." Moira replied, managing to hide the tremor in her voice. "And I'll handle it."

"I guess what I'm wondering is, whether it's time for our associate to handle it." Malcolm said, the threat clear.

 **Across Town**

 **Several Hours Later**

A man was walking down a dark alley towards his car, talking on his phone.

"Hell, yeah, I returned the money." He said into the phone. "$70 million isn't worth getting an arrow through the chest. And you can tell him, if he's got a problem with that, he can-" suddenly an arrow pierced his heart from behind, poking through the front of his chest. He had just enough time to look down in shock before he fell over, dead.

Sometime later, Quentin Lance was showing Nudocerdo the crime scene.

"Commissioner, this is Nelson Ravich." He explained as they walked up to the body. "The Hood hit him earlier this week. Ravich wired back the money he embezzled less than 5 minutes later."

Nudocerdo, then gestured for Lance to come with him. They walked back down the alley a bit before the Commissioner turned to the Detective. "All right. We tell the press The Hood did this." He said. At Lance's look, he pressed on. "Hunt's murder is a page 10 story, at best. But Ravich makes this a serial murder case. We can't let the public get wind of the idea that there are two of these nut jobs running around!"

"You want me to blame these murders on a guy that didn't do it and ignore the fact that the real serial killer is still on the loose?" Lance asked to clarify.

Nudocerdo glared at the detective. "Just catch one of these psychos." He ordered. "I don't care which one. That is a direct order from your commanding officer." He turned and walked away.

"Well, you can forget it, then." Lance called after him.

Nudocerdo turned around and gave him a look. "Fine. It's forgotten." He said pleasantly, and then his voice hardened. "And you're off this case, Sergeant, effective immediately." Nudocerdo turned and headed back to his car, leaving Lance to stare after the man in disgust.

 **SCPD Later**

Lance sat at his desk, dejected. Then he glanced down at the phone. He stared at it for several moments before coming to a decision. He picked it up and dialed the saved number, walking out into the hallway.

At Queen Manor, Nathan noted the ringing phone and answered, the voice distorter working automatically. **"Don't bother trying to trace this back to me. You'll never make it through my encryption."**

"There's a heating vent on the corner of O'Neil and Adams. You'll find what you're after there." Lance told the vigilante.

 **"It'd be a mistake to set a trap for me, Detective."** Nathan warned.

"I'm trading away just about everything I believe in here 'cause it's the only way I've got to get this bastard." He snarled into the phone. "You got till Christmas. And then, copycat or not I'm coming after you."

 **Arrow Lair**

 **Later**

Nathan was studying the arrow Lance had left him. Lyla and Helena came into the lair and walked over to him.

"So your _'friend'_ Lance gave you a Christmas present after all." Helena said as Nathan stared at the arrowhead under his magnifier.

"-Hmm." He said absently, holding up the arrow for him to see. "Teflon-coated titanium blade, serrated to split the bone and rip through flesh. Shaft is some type of specialized carbon polymer, which is stronger than a typical carbon fiber. The design of the arrow head is definitely League standard but the material…this is a custom job." He finished in admiration.

"Wait a minute, you're positive this is League of Assassin's design?" Lyla asked in alarm. Helena was just confused.

"Definitely. I know this particular design anywhere." He said as a smiling Talia flashed in his mind and then flashed to the mountains of Tibet with an old man.

"League of Assassin's? What, like an actual organization of assassin's?" Helena asked in confusion.

"They are. I'll tell you about them later." Nathan said dismissively.

"Could he be here on Ra's orders?" Lyla asked.

"If he were here on Ra's al Ghul's orders, it would be to observe and report, and he would have kept his distance. No, this guy is either rogue, or even more unlikely, he was released." Nathan said.

"So Lance gave in after the Leaguer dropped another body." Lyla pointed out.

"Nelson Ravich." Nathan confirmed, "We hit him 3 days ago."

"Which is another name you crossed off your dad's list." Lyla noted. "So is this guy trying to frame you or call you out?"

Nathan looked back at the man. "Either way, we need to find him."

 **Queen Consolidated**

 **IT Department**

Felicity was down in the IT Department looking over a digitized version of the List she had copied onto her laptop when Nathan walked in, holding a long closed tube. He made his way quietly to her desk, and then stood in silence as he worked on her tablet, oblivious to his presence.

"Hey." He said finally, causing her to jump in her seat.

"Don't you knock?" she asked, recovering her composure.

Nathan smiled at the woman. "Felicity, this is the I.T. Department of a company with my name on it. It's not the ladies room." He noted.

"Right." She laughed nervously, shutting down her tablet. "What can I do for you?"

"I have this friend, Steve, who is really into hunting with a bow and arrow." Nathan began. "Apparently it's all the rage now, thanks to the vigilante."

"I don't know why. It's looks utterly ridiculous to me." Felicity mumbled. Nathan smiled thinly.

"Mm-hmm." He said non-committal. "Anyway, it's Steve's birthday next weekend, and I wanted to buy him some more of his favorite arrows." He opened the tube and withdrew the arrow. "The thing is, he gets these custom-made arrows, and I have no idea where he gets them." He held up the arrow; Felicity looked at it; fear, trepidation, curiosity and excitement playing over her face. "I was hoping you could find out where this came from." As he held out the arrow for her to take she had a feeling, deep down, that once she took the arrow, there was no going back.

Nathan seemed to know it, too. "Careful, that arrow head is sharp." He cautioned as she reached out for it. Felicity smiled in excitement.

"Yeah." She agreed, delicately taking it. She looked it over; down near the end of the arrow she found a stamp, almost invisible. "The shaft's composite is patented." She noted, turning to her computer. She searched briefly before looking up at him triumphantly. "And that patent is registered to a company called Sagittarius." She said, handing him back the arrow. "That's Latin for the archer." She added needlessly.

"Really? Could you find out where and when this was purchased?" Nathan asked casually, slipping the arrow back into the tube.

"According to Sagittarius company records, that particular arrow was part of a bundle shipment." She wrote something down on a piece of paper. "Sent to this address." She tore the piece of paper from the pad and handed it to Nathan.

He took it with a smile. "Felicity," he said, smiling at her warmly. "You're remarkable." He said sincerely.

Felicity returned the smile. "Thank you for remarking on it."

Nathan rose. "And Merry Christmas." He added, walking out the door.

"I'm Jewish."

Nathan paused and turned back. "Happy Hanukkah, then." He amended, and then left. Felicity closed her eyes, slightly embarrassed, and even more curious.

 **Laurel's Apartment**

Quentin was glowering at the TV as Nudocerdo gave a press conference.

'-the significant resources of the Starling City police department. It is clear that this vigilante's cycle of violence has escalated.' The commissioner was saying. 'I'm asking our citizens to keep a close eye out and to report anything suspicious. A tip line has been set up, and a reward will be offered to anyone who aids the authorities in the capture of this madman.'

"It isn't him, is it?" Laurel said, walking up behind her dad. "The man in Hood didn't kill those people."

"You're the one who said he was a monster." Quentin remarked crossly, though his heart wasn't into the argument.

"He was protecting me." She argued softly. "It's different."

They resumed watching the TV for a few moments before there was a knock on door. "It's probably Joanna." Laurel said, heading to the door. "She said she was going to come by with some files."

Laurel opened the door to see a slightly anxious Tommy standing there. They looked at one another for a moment, the Tommy spotted Quentin. He walked in and extended his hand, slightly nervous.

"Merry Christmas, sir." He said politely. "How are you?"

"Proficient with firearms." Quentin replied.

Laurel gave him a look.

"Dad."

"Yeah." Quentin turned and headed into the kitchen. Laurel turned back to Tommy.

"I told you I wanted to spend the holidays with my dad." She began.

"Right. Because of Sara. Because it makes the holidays a tough time." Tommy replied. He looked into her eyes. "But when you are with someone, as I want to be with you, then there aren't tough times. There's just times." He sighed. "Something is holding you back." He stated. Laurel said nothing. "The Queens are having a last-minute Christmas party, and I would like for you to be my plus one." He said simply, then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small white box with a red bow. "I, um, was looking through some old photographs and I found this." He said, handing the box to her. "Merry Christmas." He kissed her on the cheek, then turned and left. Laurel stared after him, and then looked down at the box.

Quentin walked back into the room. "Bad enough you're friends with this guy, and now he's your…what?" he asked, agitated.

"I don't know what he is. But he's not wrong." Laurel admitted. "Something is holding me back."

"Right. Keep listening to that something." Quentin advised, walking back into the living room as Laurel opened the box.

She stared at the gift in wonder and sadness as her dad continued. "I try to stay out of your personal life, Laurel, I really do, but these guys- Merlyn, Queen- I mean, they're selfish. They think they can treat people any way they damn please-"

"It's you, me, and Sara." She said suddenly, cutting him off.

"What?" he asked. Laurel removed the small, round picture frame from the box and showed it to her father. In the frame was a picture of her, Quentin, and Sara, taken shortly before Sara, Oliver, and Nathan left on _'The Queen's Gambit'_. Quentin looked at the picture, a range of emotions playing over his face.

 **Ware House District**

Nathan and Huntress walked silently down an alley, approaching the address Felicity had given them. Reaching the door, Helena opened it and cautiously made their way in. Nate walked slowly, taking in the workbenches around him. At the end of the room he saw a single black arrow, sticking up out of the floor. He and Helena both stared at it, considering…

Suddenly the door slammed shut. Nathan spun around, reaching for an arrow and Helena grabbed her crossbow pistol- but there was no one there. A sudden noise from behind them, like a shorting out circuit combined with water filling a tub, caught their attention, and they turned back around. On the table behind the arrow was a large device. There was a large central tube; hanging above were six smaller tubes, three on either side- three were filled with a green liquid, three were filled with a red liquid. All six were rapidly draining into the central tube, the mixing liquids rising rapidly to the top where a small flame was being triggered on and off via an electric current.

" **Huntress, we need to go!".** Gritting his teeth at his stupidity, Nathan spun back around and fired an explosive arrow at the door. They charged the door and reached it just as the charge went off- and just as the large bomb behind them exploded, sending a gout of flame at them as Nate rolled out the now-open doorway with Helena and into the alley.

"Hey, you're not hurt, are you?" He asked Helena

"I'm okay." Helena said.

He looked back into the flaming room in frustration.

 **Queen Mansion**

 **Later**

Nathan and Helena, cleaned up and in civilian clothes, walked into Queen Manor as the party was in full swing. Nathan walked up to Lyla. "I see the halls are decked." He noted.

"Is everyone having a good time?" he asked

"You sure you want to do this, Nate? Maybe now is not the best time for you to be Martha Stewart's elf." Helena said.

"My family needs this party, babe." Nathan said. "And I need it too." Lyla noted the front door opening, and glanced at Nathan. He turned around to see Thea's friend Shane.

"Hey, dude." He said casually. "Thea invited me. I hope that's cool." Nathan glanced at the flowers in his hand. "These are for your mom." He explained.

Nathan stared at the kid for a few moments then turned to Helena. "Smooth." He whispered, moving off into the house.

Lyla gave Shane a sardonic grin. "Good luck, kid." He said, turning to follow Nathan into the sitting room.

Nathan walked in and found his family standing off to the side, talking to guests as families and couples had their photographs taken.

"Thank you for coming." Moira said to one guest as her son came up. "Nathan." She said happily.

"You guys look great." Nathan complimented. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." The three Queen's responded; Thea a little less enthusiastic than the others. Moira then took note of Helena.

"Nathan, you haven't introduced us to your friend yet." Moira commented.

"Oh sorry." Nathan put his arm around Helena's waist. "Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Helena Bertinelli. Helena, this is my mother Moira, my stepfather Walter, and my sister Thea.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all" Helena greeted politely. She turned to Nate and whispered, " _I'm going to go mingle with some of the guests that I know. I'll see you in a bit."_

As she walked away, Moira had a disapproving look in her eyes, "Really, Nathaniel. The daughter of Frank Bertinelli?"

"Yeah, she and I met a few days before her father was killed by the vigilantes, and we hit it off pretty well." Nathan explained.

"She's the daughter of a mobster" Moira explained.

"Her father killed her old fiancé," Nathan said, silencing any further arguments, "She's nothing like her father."

Deciding to clear the awkward tension, "Let's get a holiday photo." Nathan suggested, gesturing at the photographer.

"I already sent out our Christmas cards, Nathan." Moira said.

"Mom, let's get a picture just for the 4 of us." Nathan said, giving her a puppy dog look. Moira sighed pleasantly.

"Of course." She agreed.

Thea rolled her eyes, and did her best not to look too unhappy as the photographer took their picture. After that was done, Shane walked up.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Queen?" he said, handing her the flowers. "These are for you."

"Well, thank you." She said pleasantly. "I'll-I'll go put this in water." Thea smiled at Shane and led him away.

As Moira went to find a vase, Walter stopped her.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

"You and I should talk alone." She replied quietly. As she left, Nathan moved closer to Walter.

"Everything okay between the two of you?" he asked.

Walter gave him a tight smile. "Yeah. I'm sure it'll work itself out." He assured the younger man, moving off to talk with the guests. Nathan looked around and saw Thea leading Shane off deeper into the house.

Nathan walked back over to Helena. "What, estranged family giving you a hard time already?" Helena jokingly asked.

"Well, it could have gone better if mom wasn't fighting with Walter, and Thea wasn't being so selfish." Nathan sighed before he kissed her, "But it's all better now."

"You didn't have to stand up for me, you know. I can take the criticism. I'm used to it," Helena said, her tough girl attitude showing.

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't defend you from time to time?" Nate asked rhetorically, causing her to smile, as she appreciated it, and they shared another kiss.

Then he saw Tommy and Laurel walk in. "Hey, I'll be back.", he told Helena. Letting her mingle with more of the guests, he walked up to them.

"So glad that both of you could make it." He said.

"Merry Christmas, man." Tommy replied, giving Nathan a hug, which he returned.

"Merry Christmas." Nathan agreed, and then turned to Laurel.

"Merry Christmas." She told him as the two embraced briefly.

"What's up?" He replied, moving back. The three friends shared an awkward silence.

"So how long do you guys think it'll be till this isn't so weird?" Tommy asked. "You know, the three of us."

"It's not weird at all." Nathan said with a straight face. After a moment he laughed, the other two joining him, the tension broken momentarily.

 **In the upstairs hallway**

Moira walked over to a small table and shakily put down the flowers and flute of champagne she had been carrying. Walter came up behind her then, setting down his own drink.

"You lied to me." Moira said bluntly, not looking back.

"An odd accusation coming from you." Walter noted wryly. She turned to look at him then.

"When you came home, you said you were through investigating Robert's death." She stated.

"Robert was my oldest friend." Walter said, walking past her. He stopped and turned around. "Do you take me for a man who wouldn't avenge his best friend's murder?" Moira stared up at him for several moments. Walter sighed and sat on the arm of a love seat next to the wall. "I thought I could forget about it, go back to the way things were." He admitted. "But you told me too many lies, Moira. You embezzled money from the company. Salvaged 'The Queen's Gambit'. Why, Moira? What was it all for?" he asked, pleading.

Moira stared in silence for a few moments, and then sighed in defeat. "For leverage." She confessed.

"Against whom?" Walter asked. At her silence, he repeated the question. "Against whom?"

"People who you made very angry."

"Well, then let me help you fight them."

"I can't fight them. I am them." She declared. Moira sighed. "I have tried so hard to convince myself that I'm not. And loving you… you were my salvation."

Walter rose and took his wife's hands in his own. "Moira." He began. "Moira. Whatever you've done, and whoever these people are, the time for lies is over. You need to tell me exactly what's going on."

Moira sagged in defeat. "Let's just get through the party. And I promise I will tell you everything." She promised him. The two embraced, kissing.

 **Back in the Sitting Room**

"Tommy, do you mind if I talk to Nathan for a minute?" she asked. Tommy gave a pained smile.

"Yeah, I'll go grab us a couple drinks." He said, moving off. "And drink them both."

Nathan and Laurel chuckled, and Nathan gestured towards the corner. The two moved there to talk.

"I know it's probably not easy for you to see Tommy and I together." Laurel said.

"Ah, the invitation said "plus one", not minus Laurel. Besides, I have a girlfriend of my own right now. I'll introduce you sometime." Nathan assured her.

Laurel chuckled. "I've been wanting to move forward with him, but something's been holding me back. I keep making these excuses; that it's my dad, it's my work, when really it's you." She acknowledged. "But for five years, I was emotionally off, because you had died. And the truth is, the last person that I expected to make me feel again has."

Nathan stared at her for a moment, then leaned in and he hugged her. "I'm happy." He said sincerely. "For both of you."

Laurel smiled. "Thank you." She said sincerely. She left Nathan and headed over to Tommy, taking her drink from his hand. Nathan watched them, smiling as he really was okay with it. Getting back into the spirit of things, he looked around. Not noticing any of his family in the last 20 minutes, he moved off in search of them.

Nathan made his way to the second floor. Hearing music playing from Thea's room, he walked over and knocked sharply on the door. "Thea, its Nate. I've got something to tell you…" he trailed off as he opened the door, just in time to see Thea scramble to pull her dress back up over her bra and Shane slip his shirt back on.

"Nate!" Thea gasped in surprise, alarm, and more than a little indignation. Nathan gave her a look, then looked over at Shane. If looks could kill, Shane would have been dead instantly. Nathan glared at the teen as he walked to the boy.

"Here is how this is going to work," He growled before he grasped Shane by the neck and held him up in the air against the wall.

"Nathan!" Thea shouted, but he ignored her.

"After I let you down, you have exactly 10 seconds to get out of my house. If you ever come around here again, or you even so much as look at my sister again, you will do so without the benefit of spine! Is that in any way unclear!?" At the boys nod, he said, "Good." Nathan threw him down to the ground as he gagged, "Now get out!"

"What are you doing?" Thea demanded as Shane grabbed his jacket and slipped out past Nathan.

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing, because there's a party going on downstairs that I threw for this family." He said angrily, stalking into her room.

"I told you, I didn't want a party." Thea spat back. "But you didn't care. Because you came down with the holiday blues." She scoffed. "I've been trying to get you to open up for months. All this party is doing is-"

"Be silent, you ungrateful brat!" he interrupted her, "You don't get to take the moral high ground with me, considering you do drugs and drink illegally! I threw this party for our family because this family is broken and needs to heal! I have opened up to this family several times already and it's not my fault you can't see that."

"But you don't care!" Thea shouted. "All this party is doing is bring up bad memories of what I lost and you don't care that it hurts me!"

"You're right, I don't care that it brings up bad memories for you! I lost dad and Oliver too! I watched them both die before my very eyes, but you don't see me whining about it! I will not allow you to act as Oliver and I used to, because it was that attitude that got him and dad killed, and it was that attitude that cost me my best friend and 5 years of MY LIFE! SO GET OVER YOURSELF!"

He glared at his sister, who backed away in fear. Suddenly a voice from the door got his attention.

"Nathan?" Lyla said. Thea turned and quickly moved away into her bathroom.

"What is it, Lyla?" he asked, calming himself. Lyla motioned for Nate to follow her. A moment later the two were in Nathan's room.

"The other archer just moved to the next level." Lyla said, picking up a remote control. "This just hit the news. He's taken hostages." She turned on the TV to show a newscast in progress.

 _'Happy holidays, Starling City.'_ Read a fearful woman, her makeup ruined from her tears. Behind her were several other hostages, all bound to chairs. She was reading off a sheet of paper, looking into a camera obviously held by her captor. ' _For the past three months, this city has been laid siege by a vigilante. But the police have been unable to bring him to justice because they lack the will to do what justice demands.'_ She sobbed. ' _I will kill one hostage every hour in the name of this vigilante until he surrenders himself to my authority.'_

Lyla turned off the TV. "Police are on the scene, Nathan. I think you should let them handle this."

"Those people are there because of me." Nathan argued. "I have to end this."

"Nathan, this guy… this guy, he's very dangerous." Lyla warned. Nathan shot him an angry look.

"Lyla, there wasn't anything on the island that wasn't twice as dangerous as this pretender, and I survived there for five years." He snarled.

 **The Hostage Site**

News and police choppers orbited the abandoned factory where the hostages were being kept.

'Starling City holds its breath as the hostage crisis unfolds.' A newscaster was saying. 'Police have attempted to enter the abandoned structure in the Glades, but found rigged explosives preventing them from doing so. At the moment, there's been no sign of the vigilante as his one hour deadline nears.'

On the ground, Commissioner Nudocerdo was looking at a monitor at the command center while the Bomb Squad directed a robot towards the entrances to look over the explosives.

"I count three thresholds, each wired by Mercury switches to Semtex charges." The Bomb Tech said over the radio as Quentin Lance walked up.

"Can you diffuse one for HRC to use as a breach point?" Nudocerdo asked.

"Well, that's going to take a while and then he's going to know which way we're coming in." Lance stated.

The Commissioner shot him a glare. "You got a better idea, Sergeant, now would be a lovely time." Lance scoffed, and then looked back at the monitor. His couldn't exactly voice his better idea- and didn't need to, because a moment later a line was shot to the roof of the factory and Nathan and The Huntress rode it down like a zip line above all of the cops heads.

They landed on the roof, and then jumped down through a skylight, landing on the floor next to the hostages in a crouch. They looked around, looking for signs of the copycat. Seeing none, Helena walked up to the hostages and pulled one of her Gerber Mark II Combat Knives she keep holstered horizontally on her lower back, then used it to cut them free.

 **"Where is he?"** Nate asked the woman who had been reading the statement.

"I don't know." She replied, fearful.

 **"It's going to be okay."** He told them all. As the last one was cut free, Helena moved to a hallway. **"Follow me."** She said after checking to see that it was clear. She led them down the hall to a stairway. **"Get up on the roof."** Nate told them. The hostages ran up the stairs, but the lady stopped, and turned back to Nate.

"What about—"

 **"I'll handle him."** He cut her off. " **Move!"** he urged.

Helena made to follow him, but he turned to her and said, " **Helena, go back to base."**

" **What!? No! I'm gonna help you take him down."** Helena argued.

" **If this guy weren't League of Assassin's, I would have no problem with you staying."** Before she made to argue, Nathan clarified, " **This guy is not your typical fighter, Helena. I can't fight him effectively if I'm worried about your safety. Please, babe."** Reluctantly, Helena agreed.

On the ground, Lance noticed activity on one of the monitor. "Hostages." He called out to his fellow officer. Into his radio, he said, "We've got five hostages on the roof. Repeat, five hostages on the roof."

Back in the factory, Nathan walked back down the hall. He reached the end when he suddenly stopped. Turning around, he saw the other archer at the far end of the hall.

 **"Thank you for coming."** The Dark Archer said. His voice was modulated like Nathan's so he couldn't recognize who was under the hood. When he saw the Dark Archer garbed in League of Assassin's gear, he knew he made the right choice to send Helena out. She wasn't ready for fighting a member of the League yet. **"After the warehouse, I knew I'd have to do something dramatic to get your attention."**

 **"What do you want with me?"** Nate called out.

 **"What any archer wants- to see who's better!"** The Dark Archer moved to draw, but Nathan beat him to it. Nathan fired first, and the Dark Archer dodged and immediately returned fire. Nathan ducked, the black arrow shattering a window behind him. Nathan moved around the corner, firing one last shot as he went. The Dark Archer fired two more arrows in quick succession, sprinting down the hall. He entered the main room where the hostages had been, arrow knocked and ready to fire. All around him were wooden, skeletal remains of offices that had begun to rot away. He moved cautiously around the corner, searching for his target. He glanced down at the broken glass on the floor, and saw a reflection of Nathan in the rafters, who he fired his arrow. He swiftly turned, dodging the arrow that whizzed by his head, and fired upwards at Nathan.

Nathan moved his head to avoid the shot to his head as he knocked a flashbang arrow and fired, purposely making the arrow land in front of the Dark Archer.

" **You missed."** The archer commented as he knocked another arrow and fired, which Nate caught a few inches from his face.

" **Adam Hunt said the same thing."** Nate said as the flashbang went off, temporarily blinding the Dark Archer as Nate landed on the ground and fired an arrow, disarming the Dark Archer. Nate pulled out on his twin tactical ninja swords and stalked toward the Dark Archer, who had recovered, pulled out his scimitar.

They both swung at each other's head, the sound of two steel swords clashing reverberated through the air. The Dark Archer(DA) sliced at Nate and Nate parried his blow and stabbed at the Da's stomach. The DA parried that away and followed with a neck slice which was parried away. The DA sliced again but then this time, Nathan blocked the strike and then forced the sword to the floor and delivered a powerful elbow followed by a backhand, both to the DA's face, a crunching sound could be heard as the DA stumbled away.

Nate pressed his attack with an overhead slash, which the DA turned around and brought his sword to block. The DA stabbed at Nate which was parried away and the Dark Archer followed up with another slash to the midsection that was parried. Nathan tried an upwards slash that the Dark Archer leaned back to avoid, which Nate then followed up by pivoting and using a spin slash which the Dark archer was forced to backstep further to avoid it. Nathan then followed up with a crescent kick to the Dark Archer's face, and then a blade kick with his other leg to the Dark Archer's chest that sent the Dark Archer to the ground.

Nate jumped in the air and stabbed downward, intending to tend the fight. However, the Dark Archer rolled away to avoid it. Landing in the kneeling position, Nathan blocked the Dark Archers decapitation strike and sliced at his stomach but Nate was parried away and couldn't pull his sword back in time to avoid a brutal Spartan kick to the face that broke his nose and put him on his back.

He raised his hand, as he tried to get up, to ward off another kick, but the Dark Archer grabbed his hand, twisting and dislocating his wrist, and punching Nate in the face. He began kicking him in the side with his heavy, steel-toed boots.

 **"First Hunt, then Ravich,"** The Dark Archer snarled, punctuating each name with a kick. **"And now you!"** He sent several more heavy kicks into Nathan side and chest. **"I know about the list, and the man who authored it wants you dead!"**

 **"They** **call you The Hood."** The Dark Archer snarled, reaching down. **"Let's see what you look like without it."** He made to grab Nate, but when he reached out, Nate grasped his hand and sliced him along his arm kunai before stabbing him in the leg, causing the Dark Archer to drop to one leg. Making use of this momentary distraction, Nate grabbed the Dark Archers injured arm and spun around in a show of acrobatics, until the Dark Archer was on his back and his arm was in Nate's leg lock. With a violent snap, Nathan broke the Dark Archers arm, causing him to roar in pain.

The two of them rolled back to their feet and Nate reset his wrist while the Dark Archer made to cut off his head. Nathan maneuvered around the blow, catching the Dark Archers hand and jabbing him in the side. The Dark Archer made to stab Nate in the heart, but Nate caught his other wrist and pulled the Dark Archer's arm back until cracking could be heard, forcing the Dark Archer to drop his scimitar as Nate spun him around and slugged him hard in the jaw three wild haymakers, before spinning in the air and performing a viscous drop kick, causing to Dark Archer to hit the ground hard.

Nate flipped back to where his sword was and resheathed it before taking his bow back out and nocking an arrow only to find the Dark Archer gone. Growling as he had failed to kill his assailant, he exited the building through a back door alley, and made his way back to base while avoiding the police.

 **Unknown Location**

The Dark Archer limped in, holding his broken arm. He made his way to a workbench that held a row of arrows and leaned heavily against it. He reached up, ripping off the mask and hood to reveal the panting and sweaty face of Malcolm Merlyn.

 **Queen Consolidated**

Walter had returned to the office to finish off some work and was leaving again, talking on his phone to Felicity.

"Thank you, Felicity." Walter said. He pushed the call button for the elevator, and moments later the door opened. There was a man already inside and Walter smiled at him pleasantly. "I'm stepping into an elevator, so I'll probably lose you. I'll call you straight back. Bye." He hung up the phone and pushed the button for the lobby, when suddenly the other man pulled out a syringe and stuck it in Walter's neck. He quickly fell unconscious as the doors closed.

 **Deserted Road**

Moira stood across from Malcolm, who had cleaned up and looked perfectly normal. He kept his broken arm hanging at his side, giving no indication it was broken.

"It's done." He told Moira flatly.

"And he won't be harmed?" she demanded.

"Nor will he ever discover your involvement. You have my word." Malcolm assured the distraught woman.

"Forgive me if I don't find that comforting." She replied scathingly.

"You were warned, Moira." He replied coldly. "I told you to get Walter under control, and you couldn't. Steps had to be taken."

"That's what you said to justify Robert's murder." Moira shot back. "And you wonder why I don't trust you."

"Quite a bid of judgment coming from the woman who had her son kidnapped and tortured." Malcolm replied mockingly.

"To prove to you that Nathan didn't know anything." She spat. "And what does it matter now? What's done is done."

"No, Moira. It's just beginning." He smiled coldly "In six months, the organization's vision of what this city should be will be complete."

"And you won't feel a thing then, will you?" she realized, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach. "Thousands of innocent people will be dead, and you'll feel nothing."

"That's not true." He denied. "I'll feel a sense of accomplishment." He looked at her, threat clear in his eyes. "And you'll have Walter back." He smirked as he climbed into his limo. The limo moved off, leaving a shaken, tearful Moira behind.

 **The Arrow Lair**

Nathan walked in to the lair and making up with his family and Thea apologized for being so selfish and sat on his chair while he addressed Helena and Lyla.

"You know, Lyla, when I confront somebody on the list, I tell them that they failed the city." He said, staring the screen. "But tonight, tonight was different."

"Nathan, five hostages are home tonight with their families enjoying the holidays." Lyla pointed out. "Because of you. This guy, the other archer, He'll get his. And you'll give it to him."

"We might have a bigger problem." Nathan said. "The rogue Leaguer told me that somebody compiled the list. I always assumed it was my father. But what if it wasn't?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Helena said.

"I think there's someone else out there. Someone who's more of a danger to the city than a rogue member of the League of Assassins." Nathan seethed. "And I am gonna kill him." He vowed.

"Nathan," Helena said as he turned to her, " You said you would tell me about the League."

Nathan leaned forward in his chair, contemplating his next action before saying, "I first heard about the League of Assassins in my second year on the Lian Yu, from Shado.."

 **Chapter End**

 **Nathan didn't use his strength because he typically does not like using it.**

 **So, Malcolm and Nate are pretty even skill wise.**


	10. Chapter 10 - The In Between

**Since Nathan is not affected negatively by his fight with Merlyn, episodes 10 and 11 are being combined into a single chapter.**

 **Chapter 10 – The In between**

 **Chapter Start**

After Nate had explained what he knew about the League of Assassin's, which was not that much outside what Shado, Talia and the old man had told him, he decided to train both Helena and Lyla in the basics of League training over the last 6 weeks. They had not yet completed their training in the League of Assassins Basics, but they were about 3/4 of the way there. This way, if they encountered the Dark Archer again, because they almost certainly would, Nate would be safe in the knowledge that they could help him handle the DA.

More about the League, Shado had told him and Slade about it between the time after they had killed Fryers and when Ivo had found the Island. Most of what she knew were just rumors. Talia and the old man had confirmed some of these rumors, debunked other ones. They never spoke about the inner workings of the League, probably because he wasn't a member and was technically an outsider. Talia and the old man had still trained him in the basics but never went farther than that. And he had been trying to reach Talia to see if she might know the identity of the rogue Leaguer, but the problem was her own organization was located in the mountain ranges of Tibet, which meant there was no cell reception there, so that was a dead end until he could travel there himself.

It's true that he could have easily killed the rogue Leaguer, but he didn't like using his powers unless it was necessary , like using it against a superhuman/metahuman was totally fine in his mind, but using it against a human made him feel cheap, as he enjoyed testing his skills against worthy opponents, and using his superpowers cheapens the experience. Its way more enjoyable to fight a guy with hand to hand and actually have to try to win than it is to punch a hole through a guys chest like it's nothing. Plus, he might one day end up being cured of the mirakuru and he didn't want to be overly reliant on his superpowers if that ever happened.

Since he had mostly focused the last 6 weeks on training Lyla and Helena, they hadn't done much vigilante work, only crossing off a couple more names in the last six weeks, most of them being the heads of drug manufacturing operations, and targeting drug dealers. He had heard rumors about this new drug called Vertigo. Having heard some of the nasty stuff this crap could do, he needed to know who the hell was manufacturing the stuff, but he couldn't even get that, because whoever the hell he or she was, they didn't meet directly.

Right now, however, he was letting Helena rest and recover after a brutal training session, while Lyla was out playing bodyguard to his clone. He didn't hurt them too bad when he trained them, but it was League training, and you can't undergo that without a few bruises. He tossed three tennis balls into the air and quickly nocked and fired 3 arrows in rapid succession, all of them pinning the balls into the wall in front of him. Satisfied, he pulled the arrows out of the wall.

After setting his bow down, he looked over to Helena and noticed her black yoga pants with royal purple branch designs and black sports bra, complete with a loose purple shirt, as she stretched. Her beautiful light brown hair was tied in ponytail and she turned to look at him with her light blue eyes and her succulent, kissable lips. She was purposely stretching in sexy poses. And it was turning him on. Seeing as his clone was handling his responsibilities for the day, he decided a decision.

Helena on the other hand was watching Nate as he tested his archery skills and noticed his lean ripped muscles, six pack abs, and the fact he was only wearing shorts right now. She and him hadn't had sex since the night she found out who he was. Them sleeping together had been a spur of the moment decision where their emotions were all over the place and they had wanted to develop their relationship more before they had sex again. It had been 7 weeks and she was horny. She wanted him.

 **Lemon Time**

Nathan walked over to Helena as she stood up and slipped his hands under her loose shirt and began to massage her breasts through her sports bra, while kissing her neck. This caused her to elicit a sexy moan. "Ah, and here I was thinking you had forgotten me." She teased.

"Never." Nathan whispered huskily as he nibbled on her ear. Helena turned around and French kissed him, which he returned with equal lust and passion. Nathan kicked off his shoes while Helena took off her shirt and bra, her luscious C-cup breasts bouncing as she did. Nate could feel her erect nipples against his chest as they continued to kiss. Helena reached down into Nathan's shorts and began stroking his throbbing cock.

"Do you like what I'm doing?" Helena asked sexily whilst she stroked his cock up and down, while Nate's hands groped her ass.

"Yes, I like it a lot," Nathan breathed as she pumped his cock with her hand.

She smiled, before she stroked him and slowly kneeled before him. "Just wait, because if you liked that, you're going to love this."

Helena dove down between Nathan's legs, pulled down his shorts, and gave his nutsac a little lick, dragging her tongue against it. That caused Nathan to twitch in pleasure.

"Damn it, keep doing that," Nathan stated after she licked him around his balls.

Helena licked her tongue up and down his cock, feeling every throb, every twitch, as it grew more in her hand.

"Damn," Nathan breathed after Helena stuck his cock in her mouth, her tight mouth wrapped around his member. Her lips placed around him as she bobbed up and down on him, rocking back and forth on his cock went deep into her throat.

 _"She's good,"_ Nathan breathed to himself, when he grabbed her hair in his hands and pushed her down, so her lips pressed against the base of his cock as she took the entire piece of meat down her throat, causing her to gag, before she began to breath through her nose, and rocked back and forth, going down on him like a pro.

Helena kept her tempo steady. She pumped his cock into her mouth for many more minutes, looking up at him.

Nathan felt his balls seize up at the sensation of her mouth wrapped around his flesh pole, along with Helena 's hand squeezing and cupping his balls in her hand. She went down on him, making lewd sounds with her mouth. The woman rocked back and forth, taking him deep into her throat, and his cock sank down her throat, with her muscles working him over.

His balls tightened and he sprayed a hot load of his cum down Helena's throat when she worked him over. He pumped into her mouth over and over again.

"Nathan...fuck me, please," Helena stated, he laid her down on the exercise mat before pulling her yoga pants and panties off.

Nathan looked at her smooth sex appraising, with juicy lips that beckoned out for his cock. He could hardly hold himself back, but he had to taste her first.

Helena breathed heavily when his hands were on her thighs, and then his right hand moved up, teasing her. She felt a coursing pleasure move through her body and her heart beat more heavily.

His mouth found and sucked on her clit, which caused her to throw her head back and moan. He stimulated her in such a way that she never thought possible, but the fun began, when he licked and sucked on her. His tongue buried itself deep in her core.

Nathan tasted the lemony taste inside Helena and heard the moans of pleasure. He continued to work her over with his tongue, paying close attention to what spots made her moan the loudest. These tastes made him rock hard once again; actually he got hard mere seconds after Helena was done giving him her blowjob.

Helena 's pussy clenched when Nathan worked her over, driving his tongue in and out of her, his moist organ scrapping against her.

"Oh, so wet," Helena breathed whilst she played with her breast, squeezing the flesh and playing with her erect nipple.

Nathan did not slow down, not even for a second, rather he dove in and out of her, licking her insides. The brunette vigilante grabbed Nathan's hair and pushed him in further as he devoured her womanhood, using his tongue to cut a nice and steady pace through her. He picked up the pace and worked her over, heavily moving inside her.

She soaked his face when her thighs closed together and Helena's body gave a shuddering orgasm. The woman felt herself rocked from head to toe when she shuddered again and again.

"Time for the main course," Nathan stated, as he pulled Helena onto his lap, his massive pole rubbing the outer lips of her cunt, teasing her opening.

She smiled, knowing what was next. The woman straddled his hips, her legs tightly around him. He cupped her ass in his hands, before she rose up.

"Oh God," Helena breathed heavily whilst she impaled down on his thick rod, feeling it stretch her to her limits. It had been too long since their first time and toys did not cut it. They did not push her to her boundaries as much as this piece of male perfection did.

"Yes, so good," Nathan grunted as she rose up and sank down on him, riding him. The tight walls caressed his manhood quite nicely, as she worked up a bit of a tempo riding him. "You're so tight, so wet."

"This pussy belongs to you, Nate," Helena stated in a lustful moan; she pushed herself up and sank back down, and continued her bouncing. She breathed in and out, when Nathan thrust into her, hitting her and causing her to throw her head back with a scream.

Nathan was in heaven when his member was enveloped in her warm tightness, wrapped around him, and squeezed around his cock. She rocked up and down, back and forth, and really picked up a steady and heavy pace. She rode him, gyrating her hips around him. His thick cock jammed into her hot box when she rode him until she began screaming

"Yes," Helena panted, feeling another orgasm wash through her body when Nathan rocked her with his cock. She got far more than she could ever hope from this lesson and she loved it. "More! Pound me harder!"

Nathan pounded her already, thrusting his cock into her, and causing her to bend back. He used the leverage to cut a path, slamming his thick member into her pussy, driving it into her sopping wet core with each pass into her. Each thrust buried deeper into her. Helena wrapped her hands around him and sank her nails into his back.

"Oh, yes, so good," Nathan breathed as he cupped his hands around her

"You're the best," Helena panted as his cock slid in and out of her, when she felt another earth shattering orgasm rock her body. She was not sure how much she could take and Nathan gained a lot of momentum, pounding into her, reducing her to putty in his hands.

Nathan smiled, and pulled out of her and Helena whined at the loss but not for long, when she found her back lying on the workout mat with her legs spread.

She tingled with anticipation, when Nathan's very hard member lined up with her pussy and slammed into her. The woman clutched his back when he pushed in and out of her, thrusting into her, rapidly hammering her and bringing her pleasure that she never experienced with anyone else.

"You're tight, Helena," Nathan breathed; he felt her hot ass in his hands.

"Yeah, fuck this pussy," Helena panted whilst she wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to push him even deeper into her.

Helena felt her eyes roll; she felt this perfect male sheathe himself inside of her, rubbing against her cunt lips and pushing her apart. She panted heavily when she felt everything, his thrusts into her, and she rocked back on him, pushing his cock with her inner muscles, determined to have him cum.

"Oh yes Nathan!" Helena screamed as he thrust in and out of her, using her pussy muscles on him. "Cum inside me. I need it."

"I'm not sure if you're ready for it," Nathan teased, in response she bit down on his shoulder, while he bottomed out inside of her with every thrust.

"Yes, please, cum for me," Helena panted heavily, when she continued to speared by the thick cock of this powerful man.

She had another orgasm where she saw stars and then soon after Nathan finally exploded. Helena screamed when his cock thrust into her, spurting his thick, juicy cum into her, painting her insides milky white. She screamed out loud.

"Wow," Helena breathed as Nathan flipped them over so now his back was on the mattress and Helena laid on top of his chest, "You're still holding back on me, Nate."

"Well, our first time was kinda spur of the moment/ very emotional for the both of us. I didn't want to scare you away." He said sincerely while staring lovingly into her light blue eyes.

"Nate, I never thought I would be able to love again after Michael was taken from me. But you showed me that it was possible to love again. I love you, Nate." Helena said with passion and Nathan kissed her response.

"I love you as well, Helena." Nathan said.

They kissed again and she said, "Nathan, I want to be with you, in every way. Don't hold back this time."

Nate closed his eyes as he turned his Mirakuru powers back on, gaining his Kyuubi eyes, claws, wilder hair, and thick whisker marks, **"** Get ready, my love. 'Cause if you thought I had a huge cock before," as if on cue, his cock grew bigger while still inside of her, cause Helena to gasp in delight, "You've seen nothing yet."

 **Arrow Lair**

 **Later**

They spent the next five hours continuing to have sex, with Helena passing out several times due to his Mirakuru enhanced size. An interesting thing Mirakuru does, besides the obvious physical enhancement, is make a males cock bigger, both in passive and active states. He hoped now that Helena had experienced his full size, she would be more open to being part of a harem with Chien, Talia, and any other woman who falls for him, though he figured he should wait until she said something about it.

Thankfully for him, he had learned an ability that was not part of the Mirakuru abilities **(AN: I will tell you all about this other set of abilities at a later date)** that proved beneficial for him in the long run. He could control the fertility of his sperm, making it go from infertile all the way to 100% fertility, practically guaranteeing his female partner would get pregnant with one shot. Without this ability, especially considering he only did raw unprotected sex (a habit who's roots stretch back to his pre-island days), he would have at least 2 dozen children from all the women he has fucked the last 3 years.

Anyway, his one clone was out taking care of business with the club with Tommy and Lyla, while also organizing a benefit for the fire department through his pull with QC, since the Robert Queen Foundation and Oliver Queen Foundation didn't include throwing benefits.

Meanwhile, he had been talking with Laurel as The Arrow for the past 3 days. Apparently, somebody was going around and killing firefighters, which is what prompted him to have his clone organize a benefit for the fire department. Anyway, at first he couldn't find a connection between murders, other than the fact that each one murdered had been sprayed with Turpentine, a volatile and highly flammable chemical. That part made sense since the clothing the firefighters wear can withstand temperatures excess of 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and it was only getting up to about 300 degrees in the recent fires, and somehow the ignition temperatures where several times hotter.

Digging into it more, he researched anything that connected these murders together. He found something. The firefighters being murdered were all part of a unit in the SCFD(Starling City Fire Department) called **The Fireflies** , due to the fact they all had a firefly tattooed on their wrists. Looking into when members of this unit started dying, he came across the Nodell Towers fire, back in 2009. One members body, Garfield Lynns, was never found and a John Doe was admitted to the burn ward. He had a hunch that Garfield, who from the looks of the info had survived the fire was the one killing off his old unit, probably for revenge. Which meant he would be at the benefit he was throwing upstairs later, since a former member of the unit, Raynes, was now fire chief. It looks like The Arrow and The Huntress will be making an appearance later tonight.

 **Verdant Benefit**

 **Later**

The fireman's benefit was in full swing as Laurel arrived. She walked through the club. Seeing her boyfriend, she walked up to him with a smile and gave him a kiss.

"You know," Tommy said, "ironically, if we get any more people in here, we're going to violate the fire code."

Laurel laughed, but pulled away slightly and looked at Tommy seriously. "We're good on drawer-gate, right?" she asked hesitantly.

"All good." He assured her giving her another kiss.

Nathan walked over to Helena, who was decked out in a tight purple dress and black high heels, "Hey babe." He greeted, kissing her full on the lips.

"Hey to yourself, handsome," she said.

"It's really nice, this benefit that you're throwing for them." Helena commented.

"Well, you got to give back to the community every once in a while. It's my good deed for the week." He said.

"Are you positive Lynns will show up?" She asked.

"Positive. We practically served up Raynes on a silver platter. He won't pass up such an easy target." Nate said, before noticing Helena's far away look, "Hey, you ok?"

Helena came out of her inner thoughts and quickly assured him, "Yeah, I'm fine" Nate knew she was fibbing but didn't comment. He knew she would tell him when she was ready. Nate led Helena to the bar where the fire chief was nursing a drink.

"Chief Raynes." Nathan called out. Raynes turned around. "Hi." He said.

"Mr. Queen, this is spectacular." Raynes said. "The Starling City Firemen's Relief Association can't thank you enough."

"You guys are the real heroes." Nathan said. "Like at the Nodell Tower fire, which I've been reading up on."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Garfield Lynns was the first man to die in your unit." Nathan continued. "Now, I read that they recovered his coat in the wreckage, but they never found his body?".

"You always interrogate your club's guests, Mr. Queen? Raynes asked stiffly.

"Why? Do you feel like you're being interrogated?" Nathan asked with an easy smile.

"You could see it on your face at the fire station." Helena said. "There's more to the Nodell Tower fire than people know about, isn't there?"

"I've been doing this a long time and I've never seen a fire like that." Raynes said in a haunted voice and tone filled with regret. "It's like some monster out of a science fiction movie. I radioed for my men to get the hell out of there. But Lynns, he wouldn't go. Begged me to send the unit back in. But I wouldn't do it. I couldn't. God help me, I left him to burn." He took a long drink of his scotch. "But I can't bring him back."

"You don't have to." Nathan replied. "He is back."

"What the hell you talkin' about?" Raynes demanded.

"Garfield Lynns killed Danny." Helena said, "And the other men on your unit."

"There's no way he could have survived that fire." Raynes denied.

"You'd be surprised the power that revenge can give you." Nathan noted, remembering Fryers, Slade Wilson betraying him, and Shrieve deceiving him.

In the club, a lone fire fighter in full turn out gear was walking slowly across the dance floor towards the bar. One of the patrons laid a gentle hand on his arm, stopping him.

"Thank you so much." The woman said sincerely. "The people in the city appreciate everything you—" she trailed off as the man turned to look at her. Half of his face was just- melted, covered in scar tissue.

Horrified, the woman backed off, and Garfield Lynns resumed his lonely march.

"You're insane." Raynes told Nathan. "Gar did not make it out of that building."

"Just like you won't make it out of this one."

Olive and Helena spun around to see Lynns standing there. The deranged and horribly scarred fireman threw several devices, one after the other, which exploded, sending fire racing through the club. Nathan put himself in front of Helena and Raynes stared in shock as Lynns took off his helmet and glared hatefully at the fire chief.

As the fire began to spread, Tommy and Lyla started ushering people out of the building. At the bar, Lynns stared down Raynes while Nathan protected Helena.

"Gar, what the hell are you doing?" Raynes demanded. Lynns unhooked his spray nozzle from his jacket and pointed it at Nathan.

"Run." He told them simply.

"Go!" he urged Helena.

Nathan and Helena headed deeper into the club, arriving at his secret entrance to the lair. He flipped the switches to open the door, then they both scrambled down the stairs and quickly put their gear on.

Upstairs, Tommy was searching frantically for his girlfriend. "Laurel?! Laurel?" finally he spotted her running towards him. She leapt into his arms. "Laurel!" he said happily, then looking around asked, "Where's Nathan and Helena?"

"They're still inside!"

"We can't leave them." Tommy declared, He turned to run back in, but suddenly a ceiling beam came down. "Tommy!" Laurel exclaimed as the couple fell to the floor, dazed.

At the bar, Lynn's had finished hosing down Raynes with turpentine. "You know how long it takes for your skin to melt?" he asked. "I do. From experience."

"I told you to get out of there!" Raynes shouted.

"And I told you that we could save the building." Lynns retorted. "But you got scared. You lost your nerve. You left me in there to die."

"How did you get out?" Raynes asked.

"I was pulled from the wreckage. Listed as a John Doe in the burn unit, in a coma for months." His voice was quivering with rage. "When I woke up and saw what was left of who I was, I only had one thought. To leave you as alone as you left me." He pulled out a zippo and flipped the lid open. He lit the lighter and held it up in a shaking hand as Raynes stared in horror. "Now it's your turn."

Across the room, The Arrow and The Huntress appeared. Nate ran towards the men and, as Lynn's tossed the lighter at Raynes, fired an arrow. The arrow struck true, knocking the lighter away from the fire chief and into the flames beyond. Both men turned to stare at the vigilantes as Nathan and Helena circled Lynns, their weapons trained on him.

 **"Go!"** Helena growled to Raynes, who took off. To Lynns, she said **"It's over."**

"I'm not afraid to die." Lynns said honestly.

 **"I know."** Nate lowered his bow. " **You're afraid of living. Let me get you out of here."** He looked at the man, looking past the burns to see the broken man underneath. **"Lynns. Let me get you help."**

Lynns looked back, and for a moment Nathan thought he might accept his help. "Thanks." Lynns said before saying, "But I'm already burned." He turned and walked towards the fire. **"Lynns, don't do it!"** The Arrow exclaimed, but Lynns calmly held his arm out into the fire. His coat caught at once, and soon his entire body was engulfed in flames. Without a scream, without a sound, Lynns fell to his knees, and then toppled over onto his face, dead as the flames finally consumed his body.

 **"That's so sad."** Helena muttered.

 **"Sometimes, when people break…they can't be put back together. No matter how hard you try."** Nathan explained. They watched sadly, and then moved off to escape the flames themselves.

 **Queen Mansion**

 **Next morning**

Nathan and Thea were watching a news broadcast covering the events at the fund raiser the previous night.

 _'Eyewitnesses contend that numerous lives would have been lost if not for the timely intervention of the Vigilante's.'_ The female anchor was saying. _'But these were not the actions of vigilante's. What's been described are the actions of hero's.'_

Nathan smiled as he muted the TV. Thea noted the smile, puzzled.

"What's got you all smiley? Your new club's a briquette." She stated.

"It was under construction before. Now it's more under construction." Nathan replied glibly. "One of the benefits of having concrete and steel construction."

"Good morning." Both kids looked up to see Moira stride into the sitting room, fully dressed and carrying a bag.

"Sharp suit, Mom! Not used to seeing you without your bedroom wrapped around you." Thea noted.

"Well, I could hardly go to the office in my pajamas." She explained. "I'm taking Walter's position at the office."

"What changed your mind?" Nathan asked.

"Not what. Who." Moira looked at Thea. "My daughter." She looked back to Nathan. "My family. And I promise you, Walter will get back to us. I will keep looking for him and I will find him." She closed up her bag. And looked at Nathan. "And I'll see you for dinner." She said, walking out of the room.

Thea stared at where her mother had been, disbelief etched on her face. "Mm-hmm." She mumbled.

"What?" Nathan asked, turning to look at her.

Thea shook her head. "Just feeling the whiplash. She went from shut-in to chairman pretty fast."

"Sounds like you got through to her." Nathan noted. He wasn't truly sure he believed that.

"Yeah, I guess." Thea said, unconvinced.

 **3 days later**

An armored truck as it drove down a darkened road. The two men in the front, one older and one younger, were fighting over what kind of music to listen to.

"Whatever you're listening to, it ain't music." The older driver said, turning off the rap and turning on Jazz. "There ought to be a law."

"Well, there's not." The younger man said, switching it back to rap. The driver turned to glare at the man, but his partner suddenly yelled out "Watch it!"

Out in the middle of the street was a man. He was wearing a black uniform, tactical vest, and a gas mask and was carrying an M-32 grenade launcher. The driver slammed on the brakes and started to back up, but was cut off by a van pulling up right behind them. Two men to out of the van and moved to cover the doors. As soon as they did, the first man fired the launcher. It sent a smoke grenade through the windshield and into the cab, where it starts spilling its noxious contents. The two men inside held out for a few moments, but the smoke finally overtook them and they scrambled to get out of the truck. As soon as they touched the ground the two gunmen shot them; then one of the gunmen reached down and grabbed the keys off the driver's belt. They quickly opened the rear and retrieved the money bags, making a clean getaway in under three minutes.

 **Queen Mansion**

 **Next Day**

Nathan was helping himself to an apple in the sitting room while Thea pestered him about her birthday present.

"Tahitian green or midnight black- what do you think?" she asked innocently.

"I think that you've been dropping hints all week, Thea, and mom still isn't buying you a car for your birthday." Nathan replied.

"I could not have said it better myself." Moira said as she came into the room.

"Nathan got a car when he turned 18." Thea complained.

"Yeah, but I could at least back it out of the driveway without hitting a tree." Nathan said glibly.

"That's true." Tommy said, walking in with blueprints in hand. "But I do remember you taking the paint off the side of your dad's Maserati."

"I remember that. He grounded me for like, two months." Nate commented with a laugh.

"Thea, the party planner's waiting." Moira said distractedly. She gave Tommy a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry to run off like this." She looked at Thea, who joined her.

"Don't we have a convertible to go buy?" she asked innocently.

Nathan smiled at his sister but looked at his mother. "Good luck." He told her as they left.

"How's she holding up?" Tommy asked when they were alone.

"Oh, she's okay." Nathan replied. "Thea thinks she's actually a little bit too okay." He admitted, a bit puzzled.

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked as he helped himself to some breakfast.

"Just behaving erratically. Shut-in one minute, running the company the next."

"Well, her husband is missing and presumed who-knows-what." Tommy pointed out. "If anyone had an excuse to be erratic, it's your mom."

"That's what I told Thea." Nathan said. He caught Detective Lance on the screen and grabbed the remote, turning up the volume.

 _'The department has got the same comment about this heist as it did the other two. No comment.'_ Lance said briskly. The anchor appeared on the screen. _'The SCPD may not be willing to go on the record, but traffic cameras got the entire heist in this exclusive. The $2.3 million heist is like a scene out of the movies.'_

The two men watched the scene unfold. Tommy scoffed lightly. "That's why you keep all your money offshore." He said.

"Sound advice. It only it were so simple," Nate sighed dramatically, and the two shared a laugh.

 **2 days Later**

Nate had been having a few tough days lately. First, he had been looking into Ted Gaynor, former Marine and an employee at Blackhawk Squad Protection Group, who was on the list. He wasn't particularly sure why at first but then he looked at it his track record. The same kind of heists that were happening right now, happened 6 years ago. Ted Gaynor, along with several other men hired at Blackhawk, were trained in a very specific takedown style and all were trained to use M32 grenade launchers. Ted always worked at Blackhawk when he wasn't on a tour through Afghanistan or Iraq. The same goes for all of his fellow soldiers. When Lyla asked him about it, he told her his suspicions, so the two hatched a plan where he would stage an attack, Lyla would come in and ' _save'_ Ted while he stole their schedule, thus gaining Ted's gratitude, so they could figure out who the next target was and take them down. It helped that Lyla had served with Gaynor in Afghanistan, otherwise this undercover thing wouldn't have worked.

Then came the other issue. Helena had come to him about what was bothering her almost a week ago. She felt that she couldn't handle him in bed anymore and was scared that he would leave her. He assured her that he wouldn't. He finally took the opportunity to introduce her to Chien. He let her explain the whole harem thing, since it was her idea, and then he had to leave to come back here to his house for his sisters party. He left a clone with his two lovers but he was still worried that they would try to kill each other, particularly Helena, do to her delicate emotions. He just hoped Chien would be able to talk her down before Helena did something rash.

Thea's 18 birthday party was in full swing as Nathan walked into the house, with blaring music and seemingly hundreds of glow-stick adorned teens.

"Ahh! Oh, God, check it out! Check it out!" Thea exclaimed happily, running up to Nathan. She held up a car key. "Convertible."

"You must be so surprised." He deadpanned with a smile.

"Oh, isn't everything absolutely perfect? Except for dad's not here." Her face fell at that thought.

Nathan stepped in close so that Thea could hear him clearly. "If dad were here, he'd say you look beautiful." He said, kissing her on the cheek.

Thea smiled at him, and then spotted more friends entering the house. "Oh! Excuse me a sec." she said, running off to greet her new guests.

Nathan looked around and spotted Lyla standing in the corner. He made his way over to the bodyguard.

"I heard the Arrow foiled an armored car heist this evening."' Lyla said in greeting.

"Gaynor wasn't running the rocket launcher." Nathan stated.

"I know. I was with him the whole time it was going down." Lyla replied.

"Listen, if someone at Blackhawk is involved, I'd put my money on Knox." Lyla supplied. "He started right before the heists began, and he has military training."

"Okay." Nathan said. "I injured one with one of my special nano-tech-lined tracer arrows, They parked the van in the garage for Blackhawk. He was also bleeding pretty badly when they made off in their van."

"Okay, so if any of Knox's blood is in one of the motor pool vans, we'll know for sure." Lyla said, turning to leave.

"I'm going with you." Nathan said, but Lyla stopped him.

"No, no, no, listen." She said. "You have this party and your harem issues to sort out tonight. And I told you I can handle this." She reminded him. "If there's any problem, you're just a phone call away." She assured Nathan, she turned to leave, but Nathan stopped her, slipping a tracking bug under the lapel of her jacket.

"Hey. Head on a swivel." Nathan said.

Lyla smirked, knowing he had put the tracer in her jacket.. "That's how I roll, Nate."

Thea was moving through the party talking to all of the kids when her friends Blake and Morgan made their way over.

"Happy Birthday!" Blake said, giving Thea a hug. "I'll miss you!"

"We have a special birthday gift for you." Morgan said, handing over a small baggie with several green and black pills inside. "It's called Vertigo. It's supposed to make you feel all floaty."

Thea took the bag nervously. "Uh, if my mom caught me with this, I wouldn't make it to 19." She told them, slipping into the bust of her dress. "I'm gonna go put it upstairs, and then I'll be right back down." She assured them, and then moved towards the stairs.

On the second floor balcony overlooking the party Moira stood, watching the festivities. Malcolm Merlyn bounded up the stairs and sidled up next to her.

"Moira, I have a little something for you." He told her, pulling out his phone and turning it on. A picture of a disheveled Walter appeared on the screen.

"Walter." Moira said softly, staring at the picture of her husband. Malcolm turned off the phone and put it back in his jacket. "I did as you asked." He said softly, putting a hand on her lower back. "Now it's your turn to do as I asked."

"I'll take care of it." She assured him.

"Thank you, Moira." Malcolm said, removing his hand and walking off. Moira sighed and turned- to see Thea standing there.

"At my party." Thea seethed emotionally. "Right here in front of me?"

"No, Thea, you don't understand." Moira tried to explain.

"Walter hasn't been gone two months and you're already cheating on him." Thea spat, cutting her off. "Just like you did on dad."

"Thea, I never cheated." She denied, reaching out for her daughter.

Thea pulled away sharply. "Like I would believe anything you say." She glared at her mother. "I wish it had been you that was on that boat." She spat, stalking off and leaving a heartbroken Moira behind.

Thea made her way downstairs, trying to put on a happy face for her guests, but failing. Emotional, she reached into the top of her dress and pulled out the baggie of Vertigo and her car key. Making a rash decision, Thea made her way out of the house.

 **Later that Night**

Gaynor, Cavanaugh and Knox sat in the van with the still bound Carly, watching as Lyla walked out into the street. She wore a gas mask and carried the grenade launcher, and as the armored car approached she hesitantly shouldered the weapon. So, Lyla had found the van and got caught by Knox. She found out Gaynor was heading the op, and he had tried to get her to join them. When she refused, he threatened Carly, so she complied to save her ex-sister-in-law. The truck sped towards her, honking, and at the last second-

Lyla stepped aside, letting the truck pass. In the van, Gaynor sighed. The three men got out of the van, dragging Carly with them.

"Well, you shouldn't have done that, Lyla." Knox said. "Now you gotta watch us kill her."

"No!" Carly screamed tearfully. "Please don't!"

"You're forgetting one thing, gentleman." Lyla said calmly.

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Gaynor asked.

"I'm the one with the grenade launcher!" she exclaimed, bringing the weapon up and firing it at the ground right in front of Knox and Cavanaugh. The smoke round hit and exploded, sending up a cloud of sparks and smoke and sending the two men sprawling to the ground. "Carly, run!" she yelled, and Carly took off running.

Gaynor pulled his pistol and fired, narrowly missing the woman as she rounded a corner. Gaynor took off behind her, and Lyla followed closely behind, pausing to pick up Cavanaugh's gun. She took off after them, ripping off his gas mask.

Knox, meanwhile, had managed to stagger to his feet. He checked Cavanaugh, and then picked up his M4. He shouldered the weapon, sighting it on the running Lyla's back. Just before he pulled the trigger, though, The Arrow came up behind him and using his superstrength, decapitated Knox with a single super slap and took off after Lyla.

Down a side street, Carly had a strong lead on Gaynor, and managed to duck into a side ally. Gaynor rounded a corner and grimaced in frustration at losing the girl. He started making his way down the main street to look when a voice behind him yelled "Freeze!" Gaynor sighed in annoyance.

"Drop it, Ted, or I swear…" Lyla threatened.

"Don't… posture." Gaynor replied, turning to face the woman. "You're not gonna do it." He continued on arrogantly, walking towards Lyla. "You can't. I can see it in your-" He was interrupted when Lyla pulled the trigger, the bullet ripping through Gaynor's throat. Shock was visible in his eyes as he died, having choked on his own blood.

"You're late." She said

"You knew I was coming?" Nathan replied as he came up behind her.

Lyla calmly pulled the bug from behind her lapel. "Next time you plant a bug on someone, be more subtle about it." She said, handing it back to Nathan. "I wish you trusted me, though."

"I do trust you, Lyla." Nathan said quietly, then looked down at body of Ted Gaynor. "It's him I didn't trust."

Lyla heard sirens approaching. "You should get out of here." she told her friend. Nathan ran as the police cruisers approached.

 **With Thea**

A very high Thea was driving her brand new Mercedes poorly down a suburban road. She weaved in and out of her lane, and was fiddling with her radio when she came upon a sharp curve. She took it lazily, not caring which lane she was in, when suddenly another car appeared in front of her, their horn blaring. "Shit!" she exclaimed, cutting hard to the left- straight off the road and into a tree.

 **Starling City General**

A distraught Moira and Nathan made their way to Thea's room. They found her lying in the bed in a hospital gown; a large bruise on her forehead that surrounded a long cut that had been treated and closed, held together by butterfly bandages.

"Oh, Thea." Moira said sadly, coming up to her bed. "Are you okay?"

Thea sighed. "Yeah. Yea, I'm fine. I'm just headachy, really." She assured them, and then asked the question she was dreading. "The car-is-is it—"

"Thea, the car isn't important. You are." Nathan told his sister.

"Do you remember what happened, sweetheart?" Moira asked,

Thea scoffed. "You go away." She told her mother, disgusted.

"Thea, please." Moira pleaded.

"I said I'm fine." Thea snarled, turning away from her mother who looked on helplessly.

 **Arrow Lair**

 **Later**

Lyla walked in as Nathan was working on his computer.

"Cops give you a hard time?" Nathan asked.

" I explained to them that Gaynor and I served together. He tried to rope me in," Lyla sighed. "When I refused, he kidnapped Carly, everything else happened under duress." She turned to look at the Nate. "You know, I knew he might have been in charge but part of me really hoped Gaynor was innocent. Obviously Gaynor wasn't who I thought he was." She admitted sadly.

"Yeah, but we can't always be right." Nathan said, rising. He held up the notebook. "You thought that I don't trust you, but the truth is, after what happened to me these last 5 years… it's difficult for me to trust…anybody. But you do." He smiled at the woman. "And that reminded me why I want you as my partner. It's because you help keep me in check." Nathan held out the notebook to Lyla, who took it. It was already open to the page with Ted Gaynor's name on it. Nathan handed Lyla a pen, and she crossed the name off herself.

"I learned something, too." Lyla said, handing the book back to Nathan. "Until you tell me, I'll never want to know what other names are in this book." She told him, and then walked off.

 **At the Queen Mansion**

Nathan went up to his bedroom to change real quick, only to find Chien and Helena kissing each other. "You know, I honestly expected some hair-pulling or some slapping as well, not…this."

Helena walked over to the man she loved and slapped, "That was for not telling me about your little harem." While he rubbed his cheek, she kissed him full on the lips, "And that, is for being so considerate of my feelings."

They pulled apart and gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. "So you're not mad then?" He asked for clarification.

"Oh, I'm still a little mad. But after Chien explained it and I saw it from both of your points of view, I understood where you both are coming from, and how difficult it was for Chien when she came to that realization. And while it will probably take some time for me to learn how to share the man I love with at least two other women, I think I can handle it. Because what the two of us have, is worth it. You, Nate, are worth it." Helena said passionately, showing how far his fun-loving and passionate side had helped her heal, and just how far she had come since she started dating him, because 2 months ago, she would have flipped out and went on a murderous rampage.

"Well," Nate said taking off his coat, "I still have 3 hours before I need to go pick up my sister from the hospital. What do you say we take a little time to ' _get used to it'_?" He asked suggestively, to which the three of them threw off their clothes and had a threesome, exploring and building the foundations of their new relationship .

 **Starling General**

 **Later that day**

Nathan was leaving with a recently discharged Thea.

"Look Thea, she's not cheating on Walter." Nathan was saying.

Thea scoffed. "Like I would trust anything that woman says."

' _I think I'm gonna have to tell her the truth about dad.'_ Nathan thought before saying, "Thea, there is something you need to know about our father."

"Miss Queen!" the two Queens turned to see a pair of patrol men at the end of the hall, preventing Nathan from saying what he needed to say. "Thea Queen?" the first officer asked.

"Is there a problem here, officer?" Nathan demanded.

"We received a call from your doctor." He replied, and then looked at Thea. "In the event of a vehicular accident, they're required to report to result of the driver's tox screen." Thea sighed worriedly. "Miss Queen tested positive for a narcotic called Vertigo."

Nathan stared at his sister. "The drug they're using in the Glades?" he asked incredulously. He was also pissed off at himself, because lately, between training Lyla and Helena, the whole harem thing, his club, and his Arrow work, he had neglected monitoring his family.

The second cop moved to handcuff Thea as the first began to read her rights. "Thea Queen, you're under arrest for driving under the influence of narcotics…" Nathan could only look on in dread as he watched his sister get arrested. And he swore to himself, when he got his hands on whoever the hell was producing Vertigo, they were going to wish they had never been born.

 **Chapter End**

 **So, I had China White Explain the harem thing to Helena since it was her idea to begin with.  
**

 **Nathan's flashbacks are still the same as Oliver's at this point, but I didn't show them here because I needed to save some room to combine both chapters.**

 **FYI, Thea is not in the Harem nor will she ever because 1: This is all taking place in the Arrowverse, not the Narutoverse,so no incest and 2: Neither would ever go for it anyway. END. OF. DISCUSSION.**

 **I've been thinking about combining Supergirls world, with the Arrow/Flash world, that way we can have Kara in the Harem, Nathan can interact with other heroes besides the Flash earlier on, and I can skip the whole dimensional travel inconvenience.**

 **I'm not sure about having Felicity in the harem.**

 **Next Time: Count Vertigo Get's Vertigoed**


	11. Chapter 11 - The Count gets Vertigoed

**So here is the harem so far:**

 **Confirmed Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla(Will join soon), Sara Lance(Eventually), Laurel Lance(Eventually)**

 **Very Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Kara Danvers, Nyssa**

 **Maybe/Up for debate/ If I can figure out how to make it happen: Caitlin Snow, Felicity, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Carrie Cutter, Evelyn Sharp, McKenna Hall**

 **No way in hell: Moira, Thea**

 **Let me know which ones you want in the Harem.**

 **There is a poll on my profile page about if you want Felicity in the harem.**

 **Chapter 11: Count Vertigo gets Vertigoed**

 _ **The Docks**_

A drug dealer running through the docks, ducking in and out of warehouses as the Hood pursues him. The dealer made it out onto the docks and started climbing up to a catwalk, and had one hand on it when a black and red arrow pierced his leather jacket, hanging the man fifteen feet in the air by one arm.

"Oh, come on, man! I'm just trying to make an honest living!" he shouted to the Huntress and the Arrow as they stood on the docks behind him.

 **"There's nothing honest about what you do!"** Helena yelled back.

 **"Who supplies you with Vertigo? Tell us now and we will let you live."** Nate said.

"Please! They'll kill me!" The dealer pleaded.

 **"I'm gonna kill you if you don't tell me what I want to know!"** He drew an arrow and aimed at the guys crotch. **"Tell me now, otherwise I will un-man you!"**

"Okay, okay! We call him The Count, that's all I know." He screamed in fear. "I swear to God!" he closed his eyes, waiting for the arrow. When it didn't come he opened his eyes and looked around to see the vigilantes had vanished. "Hey! Get me down from here!" he yelled to no one.

 **The Lair**

Lyla followed Nathan down the stairs as he and Helena returned from their hunt.

"You guys find what you're looking for?" Lyla asked.

"We killed 7 Vertigo pushers tonight, Lyla." He replied, walking over to his computer. "Last one finally knew a name. The Count."

"The Count? That's worse than The Hood." Lyla quipped. Seeing Nathan wasn't taking off his gear, she frowned. "You shouldn't be going back out there."

"I'm not done for the night." He replied, entering information into the computer. "Whoever this Count is, he is the one making Vertigo, and he needs to be stopped."

"Wait, Nate, Lyla's right. You're missing the point." Helena argued as she changed into civilians clothes.

"What?" Lyla and Helena looked at him, and Nathan closed his eyes in frustration. "Thea."

"Her hearing's in a few hours. You think she cares more about some drug lord getting his just desserts, or you being by her side when she needs you the most?" Lyla asked. Nathan nodded, acquiescing.

"You don't have to be there, you know," Nathan said to Helena, to which Helena shook her head.

"You were there for me where my bastard father was concerned. Let me be there for you now." Helena said, to which Nathan was grateful for.

 **Queen Manor**

Thea was in her room, making herself presentable when Nathan came to her door.

"Hey, we should get going. I've learned from experience that judges don't appreciate the value in being fashionably late." He quipped.

Thea chuckled lightly. "Got any other tips?"

"Let the lawyer do all the talking." Nathan started, walking into her room to stand by her. "They'll give you a pad and paper but do not play tic-tac-toe. Judges don't appreciate that, either." Thea sighed, and he smiled at her. "Come on, Speedy." He encouraged her.

"I know, I know." She said tiredly. "I keep on trying to get up and go, but just don't." she sighed again. "I wish dad and Ollie were here."

"I'm here." Nathan offered, placing his hands on her shoulders comfortingly.

Moira walked up to the door. "We should leave now, Thea." She said.

 **The Courthouse**

Much like the last time Nathan came here, the press was swarming, though this time it was for Thea. They shouted questions as the three Queens waded through them.

"Ms. Queen!"

"Thea, over here."

"Can we get a comment?"

"Just one comment!"

"Thea, are you going into rehab?"

"Miss Queen, are you being expelled from Balliol Prep?"

"Are you worried about the outcome?"

Thea nervously reached back towards Nathan, and he grabbed her hand in support. He shielded her as much as he could until they finally reached the courthouse doors.

Inside the courtroom several minutes later, the pre-trial began.

"Docket ending 1-10-5-6, People vs. Thea Dearden Queen." The bailiff read out. "Possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence of a controlled substance." The bailiff handed the trial sheet to the Judge, who read it over briefly.

"Counselors, I understand you've reached a plea agreement." Judge Brackett said.

Thea's lawyer, Marcus Bradley, rose. "We have, Your Honor." He started. "Given that my client is a juvenile, the people have generously agreed to probation." Nathan looked back to see Laurel and Helena sitting amongst the people. He also spotted Chien in the way back, disguised with a black wig, sitting next to someone else that he had not been expecting to see, but was glad none the less.

"Juvenile?" Brackett said, looking down at the sheet. "Says right here she's 18."

"She is 18 now, Your Honor, but at the time of incident and subsequent arrest, she was still two days shy of her 18th birthday." The lawyer responded before continuing, "Ms. Queen has no priors."

"Well, just because Ms. Queen's family sweeps her priors under the rug, doesn't mean they don't exist." Brackett argued harshly, making Nathan glare a hole in his head, "You get your client off," he looked over to the prosecutors' table, "and you help your boss avoid dealing with the drug that's sweeping across our city like the plague. Everyone wins, except us, the people of Starling City."

"Your Honor, with all due respect—" Bradley started, but Brackett cut him off.

He looked down at Thea. "Ms. Queen, like it or not, you are now the poster child for this menace." He stated harshly, "Maybe if people see that the Queen family can't get away with using Vertigo, they'll think twice before using it themselves. The plea arrangement is denied." He banged his gavel. "This case will proceed to trial." Whispers filled the courtroom as Thea looked back at Nathan in fear and confusion.

 **Queen Manor**

Moira, Thea and Nathan came in, followed by Bradley.

"They can't do this." Moira said, indignant. "That man cannot send my daughter to prison."

"What are our current options?" Nathan asked as Thea sat on the back of a chair.

"An interlocutory appeal." Bradley said. "But trial judges have discretion to reject plea agreements. I think you might want to prepare yourself for the possibility that this isn't going to go our way." Thea looked at him in shock. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Queen. I'll get to work on the appeal." Bradley promised, and then left to get to work.

"Well, so much for the best criminal defense attorney in the city." Moira sighed, shrugging helplessly. Nathan put a comforting hand on her arm, and she took a breath. "Thea, we will handle this, I promise." She told her daughter.

Thea scoffed. "Like you promised Walter you'd always stay faithful to him? I feel better already." She said, sarcastically.

"That's enough!" Moira shouted.

"Don't worry. Sounds like you won't have to be putting up with me much longer." Disgusted, she walked out of the room.

Moira turned to Nathan, helpless. "What!? Does she not realize how serious this is?" she asked rhetorically. "She took drugs. She drove. She could have killed someone, or herself."

"I know." Nathan said softly as he pulled his mother into a hug.

"All that judge is looking for is someone to make an example of." Moira ranted. "What does it have to be her?"

Nathan considered for a moment. "Maybe it doesn't." he said thoughtfully. "Listen, I have a meeting to go to. Are you going to be okay?"

"I'm not the one facing prison." Moira remarked sadly as she pulled away. Nathan turned and walked out, remembering…

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan was locked in a cage while Yao Fei circled outside._

 _"You working for them now?" he asked as the man paced outside the cage silently. "Why are you doing this to me? I thought we were friends." He paused. "Or something like that. I mean, why'd you bother saving me if you were just going to hand me back over to them? Just… get me out of here." He pleaded quietly._

 _Yao Fei looked at him for a long moment. "I cannot." he said finally, setting a cup of watered down soup in the between the bars._

 _"Hey!" he shouted. "Don't leave me here! I came back for you! Do you hear me? I came back for you!" he knocked the cup of soup to the ground and threw himself back against the cage, defeated._

 **Flashback End**

 **SCPD**

Nathan walked in to Vice's squad room.

"Hi, I'm looking for Detective Hall." He said to a patrolman. "I was told he works in Vice."

"Nathan?", our hero heard. He looked over to an attractive Indian cop in her late twenties, dressed sharply and very familiar to him.

"McKenna Hall." He said, surprised.

"Hi." She said with a surprised smile of her own.

"Here I was, expecting a middle aged guy in a bad suit…" he said walking over to her. "And I got McKenna Hall."

"I live to surprise." She said, giving him a hug.

"Well, I remember. What was that club that you got us kicked out of?" he asked. "The Club Deville?"

"Okay, in my defense, there was no sign that specifically said you had to keep your clothes on." She said, the two of them chuckling at the memory.

"So, a cop? I guess you're not hitting the party circuit anymore." He stated, following her as she moved around the office.

"Oh, I still go to raves." She said, filling some paperwork. "I just go undercover now. And I have to dress slightly more appropriately to hide my badge and gun."

"Hmm, bet that's fun."

"Not at fun as it sounds. So what do you need with a vice cop, Nathan?" she asked, pausing to look at him.

The smile vanished from his face. "Vertigo." He said simply with a tired look in his face. McKenna looked at him in sympathy.

"Right. I saw your sister on TV. I'm sorry about." She told him. They started walking again.

"The judge is trying to make an example of her" Nathan explained. "So I was thinking, you could find the person selling the drugs, it make take some of the heat off Thea."

"Easier said than done."

"Did some digging and came up with a name." Nathan continued. "Um, The Count?"

McKenna stared at him for a moment. "Nathan, we've known about The Count for months." She said finally.

"Oh." Nathan replied, dejected. McKenna made her way to her desk and picked up a thin file folder.

"I wish this was thicker," she said, handing him the folder, "but we really don't have much on him yet. Love to say we're going to catch him before your sister's trial, but it's highly unlikely."

She looked at her watch. "Oh, I am late for my shift." She said, gathering her things.

"Well, if you hear of anything about this guy, just…let me know?" Nathan asked politely. McKenna looked at him with a soft smile.

"I always loved how much you cared about your sister." She said. "But leave the policing to the police, okay?"

"Okay." They smiled at each other as Nathan walked out of the squad room. As he walked out, Detective Lance walked in. He glared at Nathan's back as he left, then turned to Hall.

"What did Queen want?" he demanded.

"He's an old friend, sister's jammed up." McKenna said. She looked at the older cop. "Anything else, Sergeant?" she asked

"No." he replied. He considered her as she walked out of the room.

 **Old abandoned juvenile detention center**

The drug dealer Nate and Helena had roughed up sat alone in the darkened kitchen, waiting. He wasn't waiting for long as three men entered, and he sat up straight and gasped as the first man pulled a gun and held it to his head.

He was tall, dressed in black with a black pea coat, his black hair spiked. He walked up to the dealer, who had raised his arm in front of his face to protect his face. The Count looked at the hole in the man's jacket. "You need a tailor." He quipped.

"You know about the vigilantes, the hood guy and his girlfriend." The dealer complained. "They just cornered me, man."

"The vigilantes?"

"I didn't say anything." He promised his boss.

"Oh, I know." The Count said. "You can't divulge secrets you don't know." The dealer smiled a little in relief. "But examples must be made." The Count continued, walking behind the dealer. As he did, he pulled out a double syringe and jabbed it into the dealer's neck and injected its contents. "Vertigo, in its purest form." He explained, pulling out the needles. The dealer started shaking and sweating profusely. "When injected directly into the bloodstream, it affects the thalamus region of your brain. Which is where all of the information from your pain receptors is collected. No doubt you're in excruciating pain." The Count continued to circle the man. "But actually, you're not. You just think you are. I've seen it last for days, until finally the heart gives out."

The dealer screamed in pain. The Count kneeled in front of him and wagged the gun in front of his face, getting his attention. "One bullet left." He said, placing the gun in the Dealer's hand. "Now, you can use that bullet to shoot me and take your revenge," he said with a smile as the dealer shakily raised the gun, pointing it at the Count, "or you could shoot yourself, end your suffering. It's your choice." He raised his hands and backed away. The dealer raised the gun, trying to aim through the excruciating pain. Finally, though, the pain became too much and he jammed the gun under his chin and pulled the trigger, killing himself.

"The Arrow and The Huntress." The Count said after a moment. "Coming for me." He withdrew a handkerchief from his jacket and used it to pick up the gun, then pocketed it. He stood and considered. "Interesting." He said, and then led his men out of the room.

 **Laurels Apartment**

 **Next day**

Laurel was sitting at her table, looking at an article about Thea's trial on her tablet when Tommy walked in.

"I'm learning you're not much of a morning snuggler." He said, kissing the top of her head.

"And I'm learning that you don't like to wake up at any hour that ends in a.m." Laurel quipped.

"That's true." Tommy nodded. "Yeah. So if you're busy being a lawyer all day and I'm managing a night club all night, when exactly do we get to see each other?" he asked, taking a sip of coffee. There was a knock at the door. "Hmm." He put the cup down. "I got it." Tommy walked to the door and opened it- to see Nathan standing there.

"Hey." Tommy said, surprised.

"Hey, man." Nathan replied.

"Hey, how- how is Thea holding up?" Tommy asked, trying to recover from the awkwardness.

"She's doing okay. Thank you." Nathan replied. He looked past Tommy to Laurel. "Umm… look, I'm sorry bro but I actually came to talk to Laurel."

Yeah." Tommy said, moving aside to let Nathan in.

"Hey." Nathan said as Laurel came over.

"Hi." She replied.

"Thank you for coming to court yesterday."

"Yeah, of course." She said. "But I don't think the judge is willing to move off his position. Taking a hard line against criminals is a platform for his reelection." Laurel advised.

"I was hoping you might talk to your father." Nathan pleaded without further preamble. "He's inside the system, and maybe he cashes in a chip with Judge Brackett, gets him off throwing the book at Thea."

"Nathan, I don't—" she started, but Nathan cut her off.

"Laurel, I am working on something on my end, but…" he paused for a moment to collect himself. "If it doesn't pan out, this is my best chance to help my sister. Please." He pleaded.

Laurel sighed. "I'll see what I can do." She said. "But no promises." She added.

"Thank you." He told her, then patted Tommy on the arm and left the apartment.

 **Auto Repair Shop aka Starling City Bratva HQ**

 **Next day**

Nathan and Helena walked in, dressed inconspicuously, with Nathan carrying two large duffle bags.

"Isn't this the Bratva's HQ for Starling City?" Helena asked, remembering her father had mentioned this.

"Yeah, I'm pretty well respected in the Triad and the Bratva." Nathan explained, stopping the woman. "Babe, whatever I say, whatever goes down, just go with it." He told his girlfriend as Alexi approached. "Good to see you again." He greeted the man in Russian.

"Good to see you to. Long time." He replied. "Particularly for Bratva captain." Helena masked her surprise at that.

"I needed some time to figure out where to invest my interests." Nathan replied. "I decided to go with pharmaceuticals." He dropped the bags at Alexi's feet. "And I don't mean weak shit like aspirin."

"A wise choice." Alexi commented. "Mepheodrone would be a good investment for you. It's the newest thing."

"I was thinking more along the lines of Vertigo." Nathan countered with a smile. "Even newer thing."

"Tough market, Vertigo. Only one seller." Alexi noted.

Nathan nodded. "I know. I was hoping you could help a brother out and arrange a meeting with said supplier."

"He's difficult man. And he does not like new friends." Alexi warned his fellow Bratva.

Helena handed Nathan a folder, and Nathan held it out to Alexi. "This is everything the police have on him." He said. "Tell him it's a gift."

"I will see what I can do." He said, taking the folder. "Provided you do favor for me."

 _"Of Course. Anything for a brother."_ Nathan said in Russian.

Alexi looked to one of his comrades, who moved off. "It is unheard of for an American to hold such a position of esteem in not just our organization, but the Triads as well." He looked at Nathan hard. "Mr. Queen." Nathan nodded, acknowledging that Alexi knew who he was. "Anatoli Knyazev." He continued. "He speaks very highly of you."

"He should." Nathan replied as Helena looked on, "I saved his life multiple times and helped him become Pahkan."

He and Helena stared as Alexi's associate dragged a man into the room. He nodded towards the man. "What did he do?" he asked out of morbid curiosity.

"Something I told him not to." He replied. "Now the favor. Kill this man for me, and I will believe your interest in our organization is genuine. And then I will arrange a meeting with The Count."

Nathan moved over to him. He took the man from the goon and snapped his neck without even hesitating. Nathan let the corpse drop to the ground, and the goon moved over to check for a pulse. Helena herself didn't really care, as she was used to seeing similar executions, having been to some of her father's operations growing up. Finding no pulse, he nodded at Alexi, who in turn smiled at Nathan.

"Thank you." Alexi said in Russian.

"What are brothers for?" Nathan replied.

 **Flashback**

 _Yao Fei was escorting Nathan out of his cage._

 _"So I'm out of the gates now." He was saying, his naiveté showing, as Yao Fei pushed him on. "What's going on? Are we getting out of here?" The Asian man said nothing. "Where are you taking me?" Nathan demanded. Soon, he found out._

 _Fyers men were in a circle, surrounding two men who were fighting. One looked to be another prisoner, the other was the man in the black and orange mask. Wintergreen was taking the other man apart, and soon he had the man down. He looked over to Fyers, who nodded in ascent, so Wintergreen picked the man up- only to send him back down a moment later, this time without a head._

 _"While I admit that bout was particularly one-sided, would anybody else like to give it a try?" Fyers asked, and Yao Fei shoved Nathan into the circle. "The point of these little gladiatorial distractions is to strengthen unit cohesion." He continued. "To that end, I think our newest recruit ought to be afforded the opportunity to try his hand." He grinned cruelly at Yao Fei, who handed his AK to another soldier and stepped into the circle. The two men faced off as Wintergreen stepped out, sheathing his sword._

 **Flashback end**

Nathan and Helena were walking back to their car. "Just out of morbid curiosity, why did you kill him?" Helena asked.

"Because my connections in the criminal world are too valuable to risk for just one lowlife." Nathan said.

"Then why not got to Chien?" Helena pondered.

"Because Chien can only do so much to lessen the Triads business. She can get away with getting the Triad here in Starling out of the sex trafficking business and lessen drug trafficking by 10% but that is the most she can do without risking her place as leader."

Inside the shop, Alexi was on the phone. "He's a captain. And he has lots of money. Are you interested?" he asked.

On the other end of the phone, The Count considered with a smile. "Hmm. Let's say…yes."

 **Queen Manor**

Laurel and Nathan were seated across from Thea in the sitting room.

"My father was able to get Judge Brackett to back off his hardline stance." Laurel was telling the younger girl.

"Your father hates me." Thea said, glowering.

"No he doesn't." Nathan argued.

"Nate's right." Laurel agreed, nodding towards Nathan. "My father hates him."

"Look, nobody asked you to get involved." Thea started.

"I'm the one who asked." Nathan interrupted, drawing a surprised look from his sister.

"The judge has agreed to a sentence of 500 hours of community service and two years of probation." Laurel said. "Provisional on the appointment of someone to act in loco parentis."

"In loco what?"

"It means that the court will appoint an individual to assume responsibility for you." Laurel explained. "Me."

"I say thanks, but no thanks." Thea said snidely.

"Thea!" Nathan said sharply. "You don't actually have a choice."

"Oh, actually, I do." She snidely replied. "See, I'm 18 now and I can make my own decisions. So I decide not to be your ex-lover's office monkey." She said sarcastically.

Laurel looked at her awkwardly. "Well, if you change your mind, then." She said. She rose from the couch and Nathan showed her out.

"Thank you for trying." He told her softly. "I'm gonna talk to her, see if I can't knock some sense into that thick skull of hers."

"Yeah." She replied, walking out. Frustrated, Nathan turned back to his sister.

"Thea," he started. "You are in serious trouble, and rightly so. Doing drugs and driving? What the hell were you thinking!? That was beyond stupid. That is a good deal that Laurel got you!" he exclaimed. "It's also the only deal you're going to get! Why aren't you jumping at it!?"

Thea scoffed. "I already have a mother."

Nathan scoffed. "You're going to go to jail if you don't accept the deal and it will ruin the rest of your life."

"No." she chuckled, rising from the couch. "I want to ruin mom's life." She snarled. "She's a liar and a cheat. I mean, deal with it Nate. You can pretend all you want to that she's a saint, but I hate her. And she betrayed dad." She began to storm off.

"So you're just-you're going to go to jail to spite her?" he said incredulously. Nathan stopped and turned her around to face him, and forced her against the wall. He loved his sister, but it was passed time he gave her some tough love.

"The thing is, it won't hurt mom, it will only hurt you." Nathan said coldly at Thea, "No one wants to hire someone with a prison record. And now that your mom knows about your drug habit, you won't be getting an allowance once you get out. And then there's the physical and psychological scars prison will give you."

"And for the record, Mom didn't cheat on dad." He said, taking a softer tone with her. "He cheated on her."

She stared at him, her arms crossed. "Is that the best you can come up with?" she asked.

"It's the truth. Dad wasn't the man he said he was." Nathan stated. "When Oliver and I were 7 and 8 years old, we were curious children. By accident, we walked in on Dad one day, and he was in the middle of screwing his secretary. I was too young to understand, so my subconscious locked the memory away. I didn't even remember it until after he died." He continued, admitting a truth he had vowed he never would. "He wasn't the man he said he was and that he just wished he wished he had more time to right his wrongs."

"I don't believe you." She said shakily, shock and heartbreak written on her face.

"Yes, you do." Nathan countered.

Thea glared at her brother. "Leave me alone." She demanded, storming out of the room. Nathan sighed and turned around- to see his mother standing there.

"How dare you." She growled quietly. Nathan stared back at her impassively.

"Mom, she's legally an adult now. She is old enough to know the truth." He said simply.

They glared at each other for a moment before Lyla walked in. Moira sighed in frustration and walked out of the room.

After she was gone, Lyla walked over to him. "Nathan, the Russians called. The meeting is set." Lyla told him. "It's tonight."

 **Garage**

 **the night**

Nathan and Lyla stood with Alexi and his associate.

"You know why they call him The Count?" Alexi asked. When Nathan said nothing, he explained. "When he was developing this drug, he experimented on the homeless. Prostitutes, runaways. The police would find their bodies, puncture marks on their neck, like a vampire." He looked at the younger man. "You should not be in such a hurry to meet this man."

 _"The Count shouldn't be in such a hurry to meet me." Nathan corrected mentally._

Tires squealed and a SUV pulled up. Several men came out, and Nathan and Lyla held up their hands to be frisked. Once they were cleared, The Count stepped out of the car.

"Thank you for this." He said, waving the folder Nathan had given Alexi. "But I'm not overly concerned about the SCPD. Now, I understand you, my good sir, wish to participate in the feel good business."

"Indeed." Nathan said.

"And why is that?" The Count enquired.

"Well, I am opening a nightclub here in a month, and I'd like my customers to have a little… something extra on side."

"Well, as it happens, I'm looking to expand my brand." The Count said happily. The bags of money were thrown down, and one of the Count's men produced a small briefcase. "A good wine's value is measured by its vintage. The number of years it took to ferment." He said, opening the case to show it was filled with baggies containing the little green and black pill. "Vertigo is measured in lives. 56 people died to perfect this high." He waved a baggie in Nathan's face, and then threw it back in the case. "Believe me when I say that they did not die for nothing."

" _Yep,this mother fucker is gonna die. PAINFULLY!"_ Nathan shouted mentally while his face gave no indication of his true thoughts.

He closed the case and was about to hand it to Nathan when more squealing tires caught everyone's attention.

"The cops! We've been set up!" someone screamed as several patrol cars arrived on the scene.

 _"Now they decide to be good at their jobs?"_ Nathan pondered at the truly annoying inconvenience cops were to him and his work.

"Let's get out! Go! Go!" The Count, his men, Alexi and the Russians, and Nathan and Lyla scrambled to leave as Lance and dozens of other Officers got out of their cars with their guns drawn.

"SCPD! Put your weapons down!" Lance shouted. The Count's men and some of the Russians opened fire, which the cops returned. Nathan looked around and saw The Count making a getaway and took off after him, ignoring Lyla's shout.

He caught up to them and tossed the one dude over the rails, making him drop 50 ft, but when he reached his boss, the Count spun and jabbed his dual syringe into Nathan's chest, injecting the pure vertigo directly into Nate's heart.

"No witnesses." The Count said as Nathan staggered back, his body on fire with pain.

Up top, the Count's men managed to take off in the SUV, but were blocked from escape by McKenna Hall. She drove at straight at them as they drove towards her, firing her pistol out the driver's side window while driving one-handed. She managed to tag the man hanging out of the passenger side, then the driver, causing the SUV to skid to a halt. She did as well, jumping out of her car, her gun pointed at the SUV.

"Get out of the car!"

Back in the stairwell, Lyla ran up to Nathan as he pulled the syringe out of his chest, his Kyuubi features fully active as his healing factor had already fixed the damage the drug would have caused.

"You ok?" Lyla asked.

Nathan handed the syringe to Lyla. "Yeah, we got to go." He said, as they both made a break for it.

 **Flashback**

 _Yao Fei was beating the crap out of Nathan. Nate was able to throw a few punches in during his beat down, but Yao Fei either avoided or blocked them. Finally, Yao Fei spun into a choke hold, squeezing tightly. Finally, Nathan went limp, and Yao Fei dropped his 'lifeless' body to the ground._

 **Flashback End**

 **The Lair**

Nathan was on his computer, running a picture through of The Count that his clone had taken from a distance through every law enforcement agencies database. He heard the door open to see Helena and Chien with worried expressions on their face.

"Hey," Nathan said, when he was taken off guard when they both hugged tightly, before hugging them back, "Hey I'm okay."

"Lyla told us you were injected with pure Vertigo. What were you thinking? If it wasn't for your superpowers, you could have been-" Helena said with worry, her fear of losing him on full display.

"But I'm not." He said before he gave each of his girlfriends a kiss, "So don't you worry."

His computer went off, signaling it had a match. "While the Cops busted up the meeting, I was able to get a picture of the bastard, and it looks like we have a match." He walked over to the computer to see who it was. "Cecil Adams. Originally, this guy had a bachelors in biochemical engineering and psychology, having gone Columbia University. Before he vanished off the radar, his psychiatrist his parents made him go to had noted the he was a drug abuser, and was obsessed with the euphoria that meth brought him, and he was using his knowledge to make something that made an even better high. When his psychiatrist tried to help him, he raped and killed her in his insanity and vanished. His parents were later found dead in their home." Nathan finished with a glare, before typing something real quick. "Okay, this guy is fucking dead."

"What are you doing?" Helena asked.

"I'm running his face through every camera in Starling city, trying to seeing if can get a general idea of where his HQ is at. I don't feel like searching through every inch of a city with 1.5 million people in it." **(1)** He turned and sat down in the computer chair.

"Well I am completely in agreement with you. In fact, I can get the Triad behind this as well." Chien said with her arms crossed.

"How would you get them to do that?" Lyla asked as she walked in.

"Well, you know how some scientists say that sugar is 8 times more addictive than cocaine? Well, Vertigo in its pill form can be incredibly addictive. This drug is designed to get people hooked, more than the usual drugs on the market. Count Vertigo is literally trying to monopolize the drug market with this stuff. The drug trade is still one of the triads main sources of income. Him trying to put us out of business is…well, bad for business. I can get them behind it."

Nate sat in the chair for a moment before grabbing his coat and the syringe. "Lyla, follow me." He ordered.

"Nate where are you going?" Helena asked.

"I need to check up on my family. I'm pretty sure McKenna Hall spotted me there last night, plus I don't have the right equipment to analyze this here." He said, holding up the syringe before he left with Lyla in tow.

 **Queen Manor**

Nathan and Lyla walked in to see Moira sitting with Detective's Lance and Hall.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay with Thea?" Nathan asked, worried.

"This isn't about your sister, this is about you." Lance said, rising. "Last night we got a call from a C.I., busted up a drug sale between a big time dealer and the Russian mob."

Nathan looked at McKenna with a raised eyebrow. " _'We'_? Last time I checked, you worked Vice." He stated.

"Joint task force. Vertigo's got everybody holding hands." McKenna said.

"Like I said Last night, drug deal gone south." Lance interrupted, getting up. "An eyewitness put you at the scene."

"Whoever he is, he's mistaken." Nathan denied.

"Yeah?" Lance said, moving in closer until they were in each other's faces.

"Back. Off. Detective." Nathan growled. "This did not end well the last time you tried this with me." The two glared at each other, and Quentin looked like he was about ready to punch Nathan.

But it was McKenna who spoke next. "I saw you, Nathan." She said. Nathan looked at her.

"Is this true?" Moira asked.

Nathan sighed. "I was checking into The Count." He began. "He's the guy who sold drugs to Thea. And I figured if I could find out what he looked like, then I could give your sketch artist something to go on. So I paid a low-life with a Russian accent who could pass for Russian Mob more money than he's ever seen in his life to arrange a meeting."

"And? Did you get eyes on him?" McKenna asked.

"No. It was total failure" Nathan lied to the cops' disappointment.

"All right, are you pressing charges against my son?" Moira demanded.

Lance glared at Nathan, but there was understanding in his eyes. "You get involved in this again, you'll see the inside of a cell, and unlike last time, you will not see the way out." He promised.

"Detective." Nathan said, stopping the man before he could storm out. " Thank you for what you did for Thea." He said sincerely, extending the olive branch.

"My daughter asked me for a favor and I did it. And that's the end of it." With that, Lance turned and walked out.

McKenna walked up to Nathan. "Hope you don't think I sold you out." She said.

"Nah." Nathan assured her. "You're just doing your job." McKenna smiled at her ex-boyfriend and walked out.

Moira sighed and rose to her feet. "What on earth were you thinking?" she demanded.

Nathan scoffed. "At least I'm doing something to help my sister instead of twiddling my thumbs."

"By running around with the Russian mob and a murderous drug dealer? Are you out of your mind?!"

"Mom, look, you can pretend all you want, but the real reason that you're upset is because I told Thea the truth about dad." Nathan stated bluntly.

"She never needed to know that." Moira exclaimed.

"Yes, I did." They turned to see Thea walk into the room. "I'm old enough to know the truth, Mom."

Moira sighed. "It wasn't about your age. It was about preserving your memory of your father. He loved you." She continued. "No matter his faults, he loved you."

"I said that I wished you had died instead of him, but you still didn't say anything. Why?" she asked tearfully.

"One day, I hope you're lucky enough to have a daughter, and you'll know why." Moira said.

Thea threw herself into her mother's arms.

"I'm so sorry for what I said." She said, crying into her shoulder.

"I know, I know." Moira whispered, holding her daughter close. Nathan watched them for a moment before walking out of the room.

"Now what?" Lyla asked as he came into the foyer.

"Like I said, we analyze the Vertigo." Nathan replied, bounding up the stairs. "It's in liquid form, which means it contains water. So maybe we can trace back to where in the city The Count is cooking up this horse shit. And when we figure out where the hell this cockroach is nesting, we call the exterminator." He said as he got his coat and they walked out.

 **Flashback**

 _A Merc dropped Nathan's body onto a small rocky outcropping overlooking a waterfall. He was about to roll it into the river when Yao Fei spoke up._

 _"Děngdài." Yao Fei said. He looked to Fyers' "W_ _ǒ_ _hu_ _ì_ _zu_ _ò_ _" Fyers nodded to the man, and Yao Fei jumped down. He leaned by the body, reached underneath, and then a moment later rolled Nathan off the outcropping and into the river below._

 **Flashback end**

 **The Lair**

 **Later**

"Mmhm. Yep, I see the info downloading now. Alright, thanks Cait." Nate hung up the phone, having gotten in touch with an old friend from college, Caitlin Snow, to help him figure out where Vertigo was being produced. She was in Starling City, checking up on something in the STAR LABS warehouse, so he had given it to her and she checked it while she was here.

"The solvent used in the Vertigo sample was run off water originated within a ten block radius of where East Glades meets the bay. Nothing there except for an old juvenile detention center abandoned about three years ago." She looked over to Nathan. "Cutbacks." She explained. As Nathan went to grab his gear, Lyla looked at him with mild worry. "Look I know you have to go out there but are you sure you're not experiencing any Vertigo side-effects?"

Nate tossed her a ball and said, "Hold that to your side."

Lyla nodded, and then moved over to the workbench. She held out the tennis ball, and Nate fired a shot, embedding the ball in the wall, before turning around and leaving.

"Well, guess that answers that." Lyla quipped.

 **Count's Hideout**

Two of the guards at the facility were patrolling the perimeter, when two silenced gunshots were heard, and they both fell dead. At the entrance, one of the two guards were hit by a silenced sniper shot. The other tried to call it in but was stopped with a headshot. The rest of the Triad quickly arrived, sealing off all the exits, quickly moving in.

Nate and Helena made their way up the stairs, killing every single one of the Count's guards with quick shots.

Inside the main hall, one of the Count's men ran in to raise the alarm.

"They're here!"

"They who?" The Count asked

"The-!" Before he could say, an arrow came out of his head, killing him. One of the guards turned to see Nate, only to be shot. Another had his throat pierced by Helena's bolts. The scientist's tried to run, but then the Triad came in through the other exit and riddled them with bullets.

In the main hall, Nathan ripped the last guards heart out and turned his attention to the Count.

"You should have stuck to your depraved elite." The Count raged, holding a gun on Nate. "I am merely providing people with what they want! I am providing a public service!"

 **"So are we."** Helena shot a bolt, disarming the crazed drug dealer, then leapt up onto the table he was standing. The Count threw a wild hook but Helena leaned back, avoiding it. He tried to stab her with his double syringe, but she caught his wrist and broke it, causing him to drop the syringe which she caught. She then pivoted on her knees, avoiding the crazy man's other wild hook and jammed the Count's double syringe into his left lung. **"Enjoy the fruits of your labor."** She hissed as he squeezed the plunger, injecting the drug into the Count.

The Count grunted in pain as the drug coursed through his system. **"Strap him to the table."** Nate ordered. Two Triad members did so. Meanwhile, a third brought out a small portable pump and hooked one end up to a large vat of liquid Vertigo. The other end was equipped with a long tube hooked up to a syringe needle.

Nathan roughly gripped the drug dealers hair and said, " **You love Vertigo so much?"** He asked rhetorically before stepping back, **"Then drown in it!"** He plunged the syringe needle on the hose into the Counts heart, and turned on the pump. Vertigo could quickly be seen being pushed into the Counts heart and the moment it did, he started convulsing violently, as he started to continuously hack up blood and his veins began to swell, until they could be seen through every inch of his skin and they were turning bright green. This continued for a minute until he stopped convulsing, a pool of his blood underneath the table, and his veins remained permanently enlarged, visible and green. Nate checked his pulse and he was dead.

He turned to Chien, " **Have the bombs been placed?"**

Chien turned to a member, who nodded and she said, "Yes."

" **Good. Get out of here. The SCPD will be here in 7 minutes."** He gave Chien and Helena a quick kiss, before they ran.

 **7 minutes later**

"Freeze!"

Nathan turned around with his hands crossed behind his back as a dozen cops who had just arrived, including Lance and Hall.

"Put your hands up now!" Lance shouted. "You're under arrest for murder!"

" **Really?** " Nathan argued. " **That's your excuse?"** He motioned with his head to the dead freaks around him, **"They deserved it."**

"Not according to the law!" Lance shot back. "The people that think you're a hero, people like my daughter, if they could see you now… you're no hero." He sneered. "You're what I always said you were- a killer."

" **That might actually hold meaning to someone who actually believes the law works. But I know better. The law doesn't work when the system is corrupt. You hate me, not because I go outside the law. But because I am the one who protects this city, not you."**

" **You fools are part of the very system that enables people like this freak show and Justin Clayborne to trample on the weak and the innocent. To infect everyone with their disease of corruption. Did you know his name was Cecil Adams? He raped and murdered his physciatrist when she tried to help him heal from his meth addiction, and then murdered both of his parents. He was going to dump Vertigo into the cities water supply, potentially infecting all the two million souls in this city. Had you gotten here before me, you would have let him live, claiming he is '** _ **clinically insane'**_ **and then he'd eventually get out and do it all over again. I made sure he couldn't."**

"You talk about Clayborne but you tortured him to death!" McKenna yelled.

" **The guy engineered a disease and infected thousands before increasing the prices for the medicine to fight it by 10,000% just so he could make a profit. If anything, I didn't make him suffer enough. You fools don't seem to understand I don't do this to be a hero. I do this to protect this city. There is almost no line I won't cross to get the job done. Allow me to demonstrate."** Suddenly red lights turned on all over the whole building.

" **I have already rigged the entire building to blow. The only reason it hasn't is because I am holding down the dead man switch. If my finger comes off this trigger for any reason, the entire building goes off like a mini-nuke. I told you once before detective Lance, you will never catch me. Why? Because I am 10 steps ahead of you. I know you're next move long before you make it. Now, I'm gonna walk out of here, and then you have three minutes to vacate the premises before I blow this place to kingdom come. Or you can shoot me and kill yourselves in the process. Your choice"** , slowly, every cop lowered their guns, with Quentin being the last, **"Wise choice."** Nathan quickly ran out. The cops ran out the other way, though Quentin had to be dragged away, since he tried to follow Nate. True to his word, three minutes later, an explosion caused a small mushroom like cloud to erupt as the entire building exploded, causing the cops to count their blessings.

 **CNRI**

 **Next Day**

Nathan was escorting Thea to her community service.

"Juvenile delinquent reporting for duty." Thea said nervously to Laurel as the older woman approached with a smile.

"Since you lost your driver's license, I'll pick you up at five." Nathan told her.

"Six." Laurel interrupted. "We have a lot of work for her to do."

"Well, then, let's say seven." Nathan teased with a grin.

"Is it too late to choose jail?" Thea wondered aloud.

Both Nathan and Laurel said "Yes." In unison, and then laughed.

Laurel handed Thea a stack of folders. "I need you to go through these files and pull out all the documents dated March 2007. Do you think you could do that?" she asked.

"I think I can." Thea assured her. She moved towards an empty desk, but stopped and turned back to Laurel. "I know now how badly I messed up." She said. "I really appreciate this, Laurel. Thank you."

Laurel smiled at the younger girl. "We are going to make an upstanding citizen out of you yet, Speedy."

As Thea sat down to start working, Nathan smiled warmly at his ex-lover. "Thank you." He told her. "And this will be good for her, having a role model like you."

"Oh, you're not so bad." She argued.

Laurel smiled wistfully, staring at Thea. "And besides, it'll be nice to have her around."

Nathan's phone rang and he looked at the screen. "I got to take this. Excuse me." He told her, and then moved off, answering the phone. "Hello?"

"Well, you're in luck. The Count's dead." McKenna said. "The hood busted up his lab and killed everybody, including the Count, before blowing the whole place to hell." She assured him.

"Wait, he blew it up? Are you okay?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, we got away before it blew up, so none of the cops got hurt." McKenna said.

"Thanks for letting me know." Nathan replied.

"It was great seeing you, Nathan." She said.

"You, too. I'll see you around."

"See ya." McKenna hung up the phone with a smile.

 **Flashback**

 _Yao Fei leaned next to Nathan's body. He reached underneath and, unseen by Fyers or the other Mercs, slipped a map into Nathan's vest pocket. He looked back at Fyers, who nodded, and then reached down to roll Nathan off the cliff. Before he did, though, he touched a spot on Nathan's neck, just below the chin, and then a moment later rolled Nathan off the outcropping and into the river below._

 _Nathan landed in a deeper part of the lagoon and floated for several moments before blot awake. He gasped as he pulled his had out of the water, then weakly struggled to swim to shore. He crawled onto the rocks and hauled himself further onto dry land before collapsing, utterly spent. Feeling something in the pocket of his vest, he frowned and reached in, pulling out a map. Unfolding it, though, he found that Yao Fei had left him a message. On the map a path was marked in red, with an 'X' marking the end of the path. Above the 'X' was written one single word._

 _"Shengcún." Nathan read aloud. "Survive." He folded up the map and staggered to his feet, then tiredly began walking the path._

 **Flashback End**

Back in the present, Nathan's recollections were interrupted as he saw a familiar blonde walk by. He waved, and she came inside, stopping at the table. Nathan got up and greeted the blonde. "Kara Danvers" **(2)** , Nate said happily as the two old friends gave each other a hug.

Kara and him used to go to the same junior highschool and highschool, though he was 2 years above her. They were each other's first girlfriend/boyfriend though that didn't last for more than a couple months back then due to the age difference, so they just remained good friends. Though they had maintained contact when he went off to college, at least until the Gambit went down. He hadn't had a chance to contact her between everything going on.

"Hey, Nate," Kara said cheerily, like the little ball of sunshine she was, "It's great to see you. I was so happy when I heard you were alive, but then-"

"Hey its okay. I get it. New dream job and all that is gonna keep you busy," Nathan said, "So, did Grant finally loosen her leash on you a bit, or are you here on vacation?"

Kara thought for a minute before saying, "Cat wanted someone to get an interview with you, and I volunteered, seeing as we're old friends, plus I needed an excuse to see you. I mean, you didn't call or text so…" She trailed off.

"Well in my defense? 5 years of social isolation plus I didn't know your number." He looked at his watch. "We can do the interview tomorrow, but it's only 7:30 and we are old friends. Let's go have some fun," He said mischievously.

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to impose-" She tried to say, but Nate stopped her, "Kara, I have not seen you in 7 years. I am gonna have some fun with an old friend before you have travel 300 miles back to National City **(3).** " Nathan got up and motioned for her to follow. After a moment of pondering, she got up and the two friends went to go have some fun just for one night.

 **Chapter End**

 **AN:**

 **1: I made the population a few times bigger for effect**

 **2: The Supergirl/Arrowverse merger is here!  
**

 **3: I have checked the wiki, nobody knows where the hell National City is. I know the Starling city is somewhere in the San Fancisco area, so I'm just putting National City within 300 miles of it.**

 **Next Time: Vanch Time**


	12. Chapter 12 - Vanch get's Vanched

**Time to answer a few reviews**

 **Guest on Feb 28: Isobel was never a secretary. She was an intern, and if that was the case, she would be like 50 years old when Oliver meets her in season 2, but she looks like she's 28. So Isobel is not the secretary.**

 **To everyone who asked about Superman: I went back to last chapter and changed that, so Superman is alive in this universe.**

 **JJP123:It's my story, I can add whoever I want into my main characters harem.**

 **Guest from March 2nd: Dude, I only need to know who you want in the harem once, not a billion times.**

 **Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul(Will appear next chapter), China White, Helena Bertinelli, Sara Lance(Obviously, eventually), Laurel Lance(Eventually),**

 **Friends with Benefits: Lyla(Will join soon), Amanda Waller(maybe, I don't know)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Carrie Cutter(After Some therapy), Evelyn Sharp, McKenna Hall, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor, Dinah Drake, Felicity, Harley Quinn**

 **No way in hell: Moira, Thea**

 **Poll for Felicity will close once next chapter is posted. Get your answers in before then. FYI, I really hate Felicity and don't want to add her, but I will if I have to.**

 **Chapter 12: Vanch Time**

 **Iron Height's**

The gates to the prison open up as a blonde haired man walks toward them. The former convict swaggers out the debarkation area to his waiting blonde haired girlfriend, whom he kisses passionately.

 **Next Day**

Attorney George Wolfman is just about to leave for work when the Cyrus Vanch and his girlfriend casually walk into his house, startling him.

"Hi, George." Cyrus Vanch said casually.

"Vanch" Wolfman breathed in dread.

"Surprised to see me?" Vanch asked. "I imagine you would be, seeing as how you botched my trial, and from what Viv here tells me, protecting my interests."

"There were contingencies that couldn't be anticipated." The lawyer stuttered out.

"Yes, Vivian told me." Vanch continued. "The head of the Triad getting ventilated and replaced with a weak woman, Bertinelli getting collared and the Triad taking over his territory, and, uh, these vigilantes that popped up."

"Exactly." Wolfman said, seizing on the thread of shifting blame and holding on for dear life. "What am I supposed to do in the face of something like that?"

"Absolutely nothing, Georgie." Vanch replied a little too happily, holding out his arms. "Tell you what. All is forgiven. Give us a hug." Wolfman hesitated. "Come on." He urged, pulling the man into a hug.

"You know," he continued, "I could use a place to stay while I'm getting my sea legs back under me, George. And you got a nice place here. What do you say? George? George?" he let George's lifeless body drop to the floor, his switchblade slipping out of his chest. Vanch looked down at the dead lawyer, then at Vivian. "I hope George has been food shopping. I'm famished."

 **Nathan's Secret Loft(1)**

 **2 days later**

Meditating in front of his fireplace, Nathan was pondering something. When he and Kara went partying 2 nights ago, he had noticed something that he had noticed only twice before; her inhuman strength. He remembered from grade school when Kara had saved that mother and child from burning in their car, and when she broke his nose by accident with their first kiss. Kara was strong, too strong to be human. He estimated she might be stronger than him, and he had mirakuru in his system for 5 years straight, for god sakes.

Anyway, they had went out partying for a awhile before he brought her to his secret loft and he offered for her to stay, so he slept on the couch. He made her breakfast for the morning, then they had their official interview, and he saw her off on the plane back to National City that afternoon. That same night, Felicity Smoak had found him and told all about Moira's copy of the list. He didn't really know what to think, because that meant his mom might know something about the List. He decided to table his concerns about that for now and focus on his mission.

Unfortunately, nobody ever made it that easy.

 **Lair**

"So this book contains a list of the names of the guys you've been hunting." Lyla said, holding up Nathan's notebook. Then she held up the second one. "And this book, your mother's, has the same list of names."

"It's completely identical." Nathan confirmed.

"So where'd your mother get her copy, Nathan? For that matter, who gave it to you?" she asked.

"Felicity Smoak." Nathan told her. "She said that Walter found it in their bedroom."

"And now he's missing." Lyla said. Nathan frowned at the implication.

"She's my mother, Lyla." He argued. "She's not the kind of person who would—"

"Have her husband disappeared?" Lyla finished. "Because that's really the question you need to ask yourself, isn't it, Nathan? I understand why you want to believe your mother over your stepfather, but I tend to believe the innocent party is whoever's missing- and presumed dead."

 **Flashback**

 _After walking the path Yao Fei had set out for him on the map, Nathan came upon the wreckage of a downed cargo plane. He approached the wreck and cautiously entered it, looking around._

 _Suddenly a man dropped from the top of the wreck, landing behind Nathan. The man grabbed him from behind and placed a sword at his throat. "Twitch, and I will open your throat."_

" _What?!" a confused Nathan said._

 _"You have ten seconds to tell me something I believe before I cut out your voice box." He snarled._

 _"Wait, wait, wait!" Nathan exclaimed. "Yao Fei sent me here, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't so you could kill me."_

 _The man paused. He spun Nathan around and stepped back, but still held the sword out at his nose. "What?" he asked._

 _"Yao Fei." Nathan repeated. "He gave me directions to your… plane." He finished, alternately looking at the point of the sword and the man's grizzled face beyond it._

 **Flashback End**

 **SCPD**

An upset Quentin Lance was following his Lieutenant, Frank Pike.

"Frank, you got to be kidding me." He was saying. "You can't throw me another assignment now." He argued. In his mind, he was so close to finding the vigilantes, unmasking, arresting them and sending them to jail!

"It's Lieutenant, and I'm pretty sure that's what gives me the authority." He pointed out.

"I'm drawing in on the Vigilante investigation." Lance argued. "I am going to get these bastards."

"Have you considered the possibility nobody really wants you to?" Pike asked. At Lance's shocked and puzzled look, he pressed on. "The Arrow and his partner, The Huntress, saved the Christmas hostages. They took down an arsonist who was targeting firefighter's and that gang of armored car thieves before giving all the money they stole back, and just last week, they destroyed Vertigo drug ring, ending that as a threat to this city and keeping a volatile drug from ever going global. What were once urban legend's are becoming something akin to hero's in the eyes of the people."

"If those two are hero's, I don't know what my life in this city as a cop means anymore." Lance snapped. He was still angry over how The Arrow taunted him about how broken the system was. He made Quentin seem like the bad guy. Bah! What did he know? He's a criminal, damn it!

"Let me suggest you find meaning in following orders." Pike replied harshly.

"Frank, listen! I'm close." He pleaded. "If my lead comes to something more…"

Pike's tone softened. "Come to me with something real first, Quentin, and we'll talk. In the meantime, I'm assigning you another case." Pike walked off and Lance sighed in temporary defeat.

Meanwhile, over in the Vice's office, McKenna Hall could be seen looking over a case. Her mind was temporarily taken off task though, since The Arrow's words rang in her ears. **"** _ **The law doesn't work when the system is corrupt. You hate me, not because I go outside the law. But because I am the one who protects this city, not you."**_

McKenna stopped that train of thought, ' _What am I thinking? I'm a cop. Of course of the law works.'_

She put the Arrow's words out of her mind and got back to work but still, McKenna had to wonder, ' _Is he right?'_

 **Queen Manor**

Moira was in her office putting her shoes on when Nathan walked in.

"Hey." He said. "Heading out?"

Moira smiled at her son. "Oh, yeah, it's a meeting with the financial planners." She said. Moira noted Nathan's far-off look and frowned. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"There was something that I wanted to talk to you about." He said hesitantly. He paused, then resolutely pulled the small notebook out of his back pocket and held it up for Moira to see. "I want to talk to you about Walter." He began. "Right around Christmas, when he disappeared, he gave me this." He handed her the book, gauging her reaction.

She looked it over, keeping her emotions carefully masked. "This is your father's notebook." She lied, flipping through the book. "He kept a list of all the people in Starling City who owed him favors. I had no idea there was so many of them."

"I've just been researching some of those names online, and they're not exactly model citizens." He said timidly. Moira looked up at him sharply.

"Nathan, I have no idea what your father was involved in or with whom." She stated.

"And you and your sister both now know that he wasn't exactly honest with me."

"Then we need to find out—"

"No." Moira said firmly. "If what you say is true and this list is filled with bad people, and Walter was looking into it, and now he—" she did not even hesitate when she threw the book into the fire. Nathan schooled his face before his frustration at the act could be seen. "The only way to keep this family safe is for everyone in it to stop asking questions, including you, Nathan." She placed her hand on his chest. "Promise me." She pleaded. Nathan looked at her, and then at the fire as the book burned.

"Okay Mom. I promise" He said with soft smile as they hugged.

 **CNRI**

Thea was walking in with Laurel.

"So this is really happening." She groused. "498 hours of community service to go."

"499. This orientation doesn't count." Laurel quipped with a smile.

Thea groaned. "Tell me how this is not cruel and unusual punishment."

Laurel smiled. "Anastasia," she called out, catching another woman's attention. "I'd like you to meet our new intern, Thea Queen."

"Interns get school credit. I'm more like a court-ordered slave." She argued.

"Oh. I can relate." Anastasia replied, shaking the girl's hand.

"Anastasia is on a one year pro-bono sabbatical from her law firm." Laurel explained.

"And apparently from my six figure salary." The woman quipped.

"The experience of helping others is its own reward." Laurel replied as Thea rolled her eyes.

"I have yet to see any evidence of that." Anastasia said with a bit of snarkiness. "And speaking a lack of evidence, Cyrus Vanch was released from Iron Heights 2 days ago." She turned from a shocked Laurel to a confused Thea. "We represent a victim's advocacy group who's trying to keep Vanch locked up." She explained as Laurel strode over to her desk.

"I'm calling Kate Spencer." She said, picking up her phone.

"I already did that." Anastasia said. "She said there's nothing the D.A.'s office can do without further evidence." Laurel slammed down her phone.

"Well, then I'm going to her office." She said, moving to leave.

"And then she also said not to show up at her office." Laurel skidded to a halt.

"Vanch is connected to human trafficking, drug running, racketeering, and at least 52 different homicides." Laurel ranted.

"Ok, so what's the play?" Anastasia asked. "Because unless you have access to some private police force, Vanch will stay free to roam the streets."

Laurel's phone went off and looked at it. "I have to get this." She said, moving off to answer it. "Hello?"

"How does a night with me and a dozen famous chef's sound?" Tommy asked as he walked down a street downtown.

"Like an episode of 'The Bachelor'." Laurel replied.

"I'm auditioning potential chefs for the club tomorrow night." Tommy explained. "I've arranged a tasting, and I could use an extra set of taste buds."

"I'm trying to figure out how to get a vicious criminal back in jail. I can't." Laurel said sadly.

"It's perfect. It sounds like hungry work." Tommy argued.

"Tomorrow night?" Laurel considered. "Maybe, if we could do it early. Look, I got to go." She said. "There's someone I have to call."

"I'll see you later." Tommy said with a smile. "Bye."

An idea formed in Laurel's head, but before she could act on it her phone rang. She pulled

 **Lair**

"You don't find that just the tiniest bit convenient," Lyla was saying, "her just so happening to have burned the book?"

"I'd like to think she did it out of concern for me and Thea's safety." Nathan said, defending his mother.

"Or her own." Chien replied. She had been given access to his lair due to her relationship with him. "Nathan, you said it yourself. Whoever the real author of the list is, is involved in something very dangerous. And if your mother is lying to you…"

"And she didn't know any of the names on the list." He argued weakly.

"She said she didn't." Helena clarified. "You don't have to take her word for it." she sighed in frustration. "Nathan, everyone of us here knows how easy it is to lie to the people in our lives when we want to hide something. If this were anybody else, you'd be hooded up right now on your way to putting an arrow in their chest."

"This isn't anybody else. This is my mother." He exclaimed. "And I know her."

Before the argument could proceed, a phone rang. Lyla looked at it in confusion.

"What's that?" she asked as Nathan picked the phone up from the table.

"That is the phone that I gave to Lance so that he could contact the Arrow." He said,

"Is he asking to you turn yourself in?" Chien quipped.

"He gave it to Laurel." Nathan explained, answering the call. **"Hello?"**

"I need your help." Laurel said without preamble.

 **"That's why you have the phone."**

"Cyrus Vanch was just released from prison on a technicality." She said. "Living large in his lawyer's house."

Nathan ran a search in his computer. An article about George Wolfman going missing popped up. **"Who is now missing. Which means he's already dead."**

"There's no evidence of foul play." Laurel said. "But I know he's just Vanch's first victim, and he won't be his last."

Nathan sighed. **"What about the police?"**

"They can't move on him without evidence of new criminal activity."

 **"Laurel, obtaining evidence isn't what I do."** Nathan stated.

"Vanch is dangerous." She pleaded.

Nathan considered the situation. **"Keep the phone on you, I'll call when I have something."** He hung up, and then turned to Lyla.

"Laurel needs my help." He said, moving to leave.

"Nathan, are you running to help her or away from the truth about your mother?"

Nathan turned back around. "This isn't just about Laurel." He said, pulling up something on his computer causing the three women to gather around. "Vanch used to be the biggest mob boss in town before Laurel put him away, with direct control over 40% of the territory in Starling. His hands were in everything: Human trafficking, drug trafficking, racketeering, extortion, theft, sexual assault, rape. This guy was so bad that he makes Black Mask from Gotham look tame. He can't be allowed to get his power back. Otherwise everything we have done will be in jeopardy."

 **SCPD**

Lance was at his desk, grudgingly working on his new case when Kelton walked up.

"Hey, Detective?"

"I'm busy, Kelton." Lance said without looking up.

"I'm pretty sure you're going to want to hear this." Lance looked up at the man. "The bug I put in that phone from the Vigilante just lit up. Your daughter's playing Maid Marion to Robin Hood again."

Lance shot to his feet.

"Where you going?" Kelton asked.

"Lieutenant Pike's office." The Detective replied. "If she's meeting with the Arrow, there's going to be a task force there when she does."

 **Wolfman House**

Vanch and Vivian were outside in the parlor while having a romantic dinner and strategizing, while Nate shot two of the guards in the heart on the side of the house he was on, using his super hearing to listen in.

"See, we got to look at all this as an opportunity." Vanch was saying. "The Triad is currently run by a weak woman and the Bertinelli organization is broken. The giant sucking sound you're hearing is the current power vacuum in Starling City, the one that I plan on filling."

"How are you going to convince the Triad still following China White and what remains of Bertinelli's crew that they should sign up with you?" Vivian asked.

Vanch paused a moment, thinking he heard something. He looked out around the grounds, but saw nothing. Unbeknownst to him, a recording arrow had pierced one of the columns.

"Well that's an excellent question." He said finally. "I need to do something. Something spectacular, to get their attention and earn their respect." Nathan was listening in when a gun clicked next to his temple. He pushed the gun up before his head was blown off, causing a gun shot to go off before he snapped the guards neck. Vanch stood and began walking along the deck- and then he spotted it. A single arrow with a recording device attached was stuck in one of the pillars. He yanked it out and turned back to Viv. "You know what I learned in prison? If you want to be respected, you find the biggest guy and you put him down permanent." He held up the arrow. "I think the biggest guy just found us."

 **Laurel's apartment**

Laurel and Tommy were preparing to leave for Tommy's tasting.

"This is going to be fun." Laurel told him with a smile. "I even wore my fat pants."

Tommy chuckled. "I don't want to know what those are, do I?"

"Nope." Suddenly she felt a vibration in her pocket that brought her up short. "Ohh." She pulled out the phone. "This is work." She told him. "It'll just be a second, okay?" she moved deeper into the apartment before answering. "Hello?"

 **"It's me. I have something. Can you meet?"** The Arrow asked.

"Yeah, where?"

 **"Rooftop, Winick building. 30 minutes."** Nate hung up and said, " **Well, let's see if the Detective shows up."** He said turning on a live feed from the Police station.

 **SCPD**

Lance smiled grimly as he listened to the bugged conversation. "Good work, Kelton." He told the tech geek. Lance then turned to his taskforce. "Okay, everybody. Rubber bullets. This is my daughter here. She cannot come to any harm. But outside of that, you do whatever needs doing to bring that archer down."

The cops nodded and moved off to get ready. Lieutenant Pike came up to Lance. "You sure about this?" he asked.

"Look, she knows I'd do anything to catch this bastard." Lance justified. "And this is the best- it's the only option I've got."

"Look, I want to get this guy just as badly as you do." Pike assured him. "I just don't want to see anything come between you two."

"I warned her." Lance replied. "I said stay away from this lunatic. She didn't. You don't think that turns a knife in my back?"

"I hope she sees it that way." Pike said.

 **Back with Nathan**

Nathan shut off the live feed. Just as he knew he would, Lance predictably took the bait.

 **Back at Laurel's apartment**

She hung up the phone, and then turned to Tommy with a sad face.

Tommy frowned. "Mmm, put those sad puppy dog eyes away."

"Something's come up at work." Laurel started.

"That can't wait until tomorrow?" he asked.

"It'll only be an hour." She replied. "I can meet you at the club." She assured him, putting her arms around his neck.

"One hour." He confirmed.

"An hour and a half. Tops." Laurel hedged, and then gave him a kiss.

 **Winnick Building**

 **Later**

Laurel came out of the stairwell and looked around. Moments later, Nate in his full Arrow gear came into view.

 **"Hello, Laurel."** He said through his voice changer.

"Thank you for helping." She replied.

 **"I couldn't do much with just me. Vanch's position is too heavily fortified to take by myself. But I did get this."** He held out a small flash drive, which she took, hesitantly. **"Evidence he's trying to take over the positions vacated by Frank Bertinelli and…"** he paused, listening. The police were already here. He could hear their heartbeats and could hear their rushing footsteps. **"And the Triad."**

Laurel noticed his discomfort at the situation. "What's wrong?" she asked.

 **"Your old man didn't take my advice."** Moments later the stairwell door opened and Lance, Hilton, and the rest of the task force poured out onto the roof, their guns drawn. " **Sorry about this, Laurel."** Nate whispered as he grabbed Laurel, putting her between himself and the cops.

"SCPD! Get down!" Lance shouted. "Hands where we can see 'em!"

"Dad!" Laurel shouted in surprise, and not a little bit of fear.

"Do it now! You so much as leave a bruise on her, and I swear I will drag you down to hell myself." Lance snarled.

" **I thought I told you stay out of my way, Detective. I'm not villain here. I protect this city. Better than the so-called law enforcement ever did. The only thing you people have been doing well lately is getting in my way."** Nate taunted.

"Let her go and come quietly, Arrow!" McKenna said.

" **Tell me Detective Lance. Did you** _ **honestly**_ **think I missed the bug your little tech support friend put in the phone I gave you? What's his name again? Kelton?"** Some of the cops visibly paled as that meant he had already known they were coming.

 **"Laurel, again. Sorry about this."** Nathan whispered in her ear, and then pushed her right at Lance. He quickly did a backwards flip off the roof of the building, falling the two stories to the small park area below, landing in a crouched position. Lance shoved Laurel into Hilton's arms and ran after the vigilante, pausing briefly at the ledge.

"Quentin, don't!" Hilton shouted, but Lance ignored him and jumped, landing hard onto the grass below. He staggered to his feet and saw Nate running away, making his way into one of the office buildings, and quickly resumed pursuit.

He followed him down a stairwell of a parking garage. He saw the door to the 5th floor of the garage close and he stopped beside it. Cautiously, he opened the door and made his way out into the darkened garage. He proceeded slowly, his gun pointing straight ahead- only for Nate to silently drop down behind him and stab him in the shoulder with one of his arrows. As Lance shouted in pain, Nate took the gun and broke it in half, tossing the two pieces aside.

" **Like I said, Detective,"** Nate said as he punched Lance's light's out, " **I'm always ten steps ahead."**

 **SCPD**

 **Later that Night**

Lance was sitting on his desk, gingerly rubbing the back of his head with his other arm in a cast while Laurel ripped him a new asshole.

"I don't know what's worse- the fact that you lied to me or nearly got me killed!"

"You were completely safe." He argued, stuck in his delusion, not realizing how lucky he was that The Arrow seemed to have a soft spot for Laurel, otherwise she would be very dead.

"I was on a rooftop with an army of men pointing their guns into my damn face!" she shouted.

"Well, you shouldn't have been on that roof in the first place." He argued.

"No!" she yelled. "You wanted me on that roof. Wasn't that the whole point of your little trap?"

"I'm trying to catch a killer." Quentin snarled.

"You manipulated me." She shot back.

"Manipulated?" he said in disbelief. "You practically ran to this guy. I told you; I said stay away from him and you did not!"

"That was before you gave me the phone!" Laurel exclaimed.

"What?!"

"That's before you realized that you could use me as bait. Don't try to deny it either, I heard what he said about how you had the phone bugged. You used me! Your own daughter!"

"Yeah, but you wouldn't listen to me!" Quentin shouted, his patience at an end.

"You are so blinded by your hate for him that you don't realize the damage that it's doing in your own life." She pressed on. "To your family. So what happens when you catch him?" she continued. "What happens then, Dad? You're going to find another criminal; somebody else to blame for mom leaving? For Sara dying, for your drinking?"

Quentin was trembling with rage. "That's enough, Laurel."

"Yeah, you're damn right, it is." She shot back, turning to leave.

"Laurel!" he said quickly. As she turned back to him, he held out his hand. "The phone." Laurel stared at him in disbelief "Give me the phone." He ordered. Laurel stalked up to him, withdrew the phone from her pocket, and then slammed it down on the desk, hard.

 _ **Arrow Lair**_

Nathan threw his bow down into the crate and slammed the lid.

"Laurel could have been hurt, or worse." He was ranting.

"And I suppose that was Lance's fault." Lyla said calmly as she leaned against a table.

Nathan turned to glare at her. "What's your point, Lyla?"

"Just that you don't really see straight when it comes to the people you love", she added.

"Understatement of the century." Helena snickered.

Nathan stalked up to the man. "This is not the time to bring this up again." He hissed.

Lyla held up her hands in surrender. "Ok, ok." He said. "But there's something I should tell you and its better I tell you now than later." she continued. "I'll be driving your mother around for a few days."

"You're spying on her?!" Nathan growled angrily. That surprised Helena as well.

"Just doing my due diligence, Nathan. See if she meets with anyone we might be interested in."

"She's not a suspect." He stated emphatically. "She's my mother."

"Which is exactly why someone who isn't blinded by familial obligations needs to keep an eye on her." Lyla reasoned. "Nathan, something dark is going on in this city. You know it."

"That doesn't mean she's involved." Nathan replied, trying desperately to defend his mother even though he knew it was a possibility she might be involved.

"Then there's no harm in me driving her around for a few days, is there?" Lyla said, taking her jacket and walking out.

 **Vanch's hideout**

Vanch was standing in the kitchen, eating his breakfast and watching a news report about the failed effort to catch the Arrow.

 _'A sting operation to catch the notorious Starling City vigilante wreaked havoc last night. Despite the police's failed attempt to apprehend the Vigilante, police have continued to insist that their warnings remain. This archer is to be considered armed and dangerous. Should you find yourself in harm's way, always, always, call 9-1-1.'_

Vanch turned off the TV. "Interesting." He said, thinking out loud. "Using deception and intimidation to make a name for himself. This guy stole my move."

Vivian walked in. "I have news." She said. "From my friend in the police department. I think I've figured out a way to get the vigilantes out and into the open."

"Huh. Astonish me." He said.

"Remember that attorney? Laurel Lance?" she asked. Vanch smiled.

 **Queen Manor**

Nathan was in the sitting room going through papers when Tommy walked in.

"Now what's wrong with this picture?" Tommy asked, taking a seat next to his friend. "You look like you're working."

Nathan chuckled. "I'm going over resumés for the Chef's position at the nightclub." He held out one to Tommy. "This guy looks pretty good. He won 'Top Chef' Season Six."

"At this point, it is basically a culinary prerequisite to be on that show." Tommy said.

"Hmm." Nathan frowned, placing the resume down.

"Can I talk to you about something?" Tommy asked seriously.

"Tommy," he said with a smile, looking at his friend. "Every time you want to talk to me about something and that something concerns Laurel, you look like you're about to tell me you have testicular cancer."

"She's been working with the Arrow guy." Tommy stated, flinching at the mention of cancer, not that Nathan noticed.

Nathan pretended to look shocked. "What?" he said. "You're letting her work with that crazy murderer? She could get hurt, Tommy."

"I'm not 'letting' her do anything, okay?" Tommy shot back, defending himself. "I only just found out about it because she accidentally slipped up on one of her many lies."

"She's lying to you?" Nathan leaned forward. "That doesn't sound like Laurel."

"Lying, keeping secrets about who she's spending time with- does that remind you of anybody we know?"

"Oliver, in every relationship that he ever had." Nathan replied lightly.

"Me, too. Except this one." Tommy said. He rose and began pacing. "There's some sort of infatuation thing going on here." He ranted while Nathan got what was going on pretty quickly. He schooled his face quickly as Tommy turned back around. "I… We both know that she has a pretty strong track record of being attracted to guys who are dangerous, who break the rules. Show me a more dangerous rule breaker than the Arrow."

"Look man, Laurel's a great woman. She's not the type to resort to siding with a vigilante unless she thought there was a good reason. I just think you need to have an honest chat with her." Nathan said, trying to help. "Find out the real reason she's keeping secrets."

"I just can't believe that Laurel, of all people, would lie to my face." He sighed as Nathan looked at him. "I guess that's the way that it is with the people that you're closest to."

"Maybe." Nathan agreed. "But talk to her anyway, and fix this." He stared at Tommy. "Before it becomes something that you can't fix."

Tommy nodded and walked out, and Nathan sat back in the chair, remembering…

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan was showing the sword-wielding man the map Yao Fei had given him._

 _"Shengcún." He read._

 _"It's Chinese." Nathan said. "It means sur—"_

 _"Survive."_

 _Nathan swallowed hard. "What do you think he meant, besides not getting killed?"_

 _"There's an airfield about 10 klicks from here. It's key off this island." Slade said. "Yao Fei and I had been observing it for months, familiarizing ourselves with their operations. We were supposed to get off this island together. But then Yao Fei was compromised, and we were separated." Slade reached into a munitions crate and withdrew another sword. He tossed it to Nathan, who caught it clumsily._

 _"What's this for?" he asked._

 _"I think Yao Fei sent you because he knows I cannot take the airstrip alone."_

 _"Sounds like Yao Fei."_

 _"He is a softer judge of character than I am." Slade continued. "If you're going to have my back, I need to know you can cover it." Slade lunged with his sword, and Nathan barely managed to block it. Surprised, Slade knocked his sword away and held his to Nathan's throat. "What are you doing?" Slade asked. "Fight back." Nathan snarled and took a wild swing at Slade, who easily deflected it and then sent the younger man sprawling. "Keep your blade up." He advised. "Always stay behind your sword." Nathan lunged, and Slade easily sidestepped him, sending Nathan into a stack of crates. "You have no skill." Slade snarled, disgusted. "No strength. No training. To say you fight like a girl would be a compliment."_

 _"I told you- I'm not a soldier." Nathan growled. "I was shipwrecked here. I killed the guy that was wearing this uniform by accident." He said, gesturing to his clothes._

 _"Where was Yao Fei?" Slade asked._

 _"He told me to run. And I did." Nathan admitted. Disgusted, Slade bashed him on the side of the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out._

 **Flashback End**

 **Laurel's Apartment**

Tommy walked up to the door and started to knock. "Laurel, it's me." He trailed off as the door opened on its own. Cautiously he walked in. "Can we talk?" he looked around at the devastated apartment. "Laurel? Laurel?" he called out, walking slowly around. He stopped when he saw an arrow stuck in the wall. It had some kind of recording device on it, and its light was blinking red. He yanked it out of the wall, then found the play button and pressed it.

 _'Make sure this message finds its way to the Vigilante. Do it fast, because at sunrise, I'm going to leave pieces of this girl all over Starling City unless he pays me a little visit. You know, gives us a chance to get to know each other better.'_

 **SCPD**

Detective Lance collapsed into his chair at the SCPD, where Tommy had taken the arrow personally.

"What do we do?" Tommy asked, distraught. "Can your CSIs, I don't know, can they track this or trace it or something?"

"How did he know about Laurel?" Lance mumbled to himself, equally distraught.

"What?"

"How does this guy know Laurel is connected to the Arrow?" Lance repeated.

"I have no idea. I only found out about it myself last night." Tommy said. "She-she said you knew."

"Well, just me and…" Lance's head shot up, and he glanced around the squad room, and then suddenly he knew.

There was a leak.

"Mr. Lance," Tommy continued. "This maniac has got Laurel! You got to call in the posse or something, I don't know, SWAT teams."

Lance continued to stare at his 'fellow' officers. "I can't." he said. With a sinking gut, he realized there was only one person he could call. He dug through his desk drawer for a moment before he withdrew a familiar black Smartphone.

"Detective Lance-" Tommy tried.

Lance got up. "I got to go make a call." he said, walking out of the squad room.

 **The Lair**

Lyla was waiting in the dark as Nathan and Helena finally arrived.

"Thanks for coming." Lyla said. "It didn't seem like a good idea to talk about this at your house."

"Yeah, it would have been a little awkward for you to explain to my mother that you're spying on her." Nathan said harshly.

"No, man." Lyla shook her head, holding out the device she had used in the utility closet. "Awkward part's coming up."

Nathan took the device and noticed it was one of his recording devices he usually put on his arrows. "You bugged my mother?"

"Just listen."

Nathan sighed and turned the device on. _'It's taken care of.'_ Though distorted, he immediately recognized the unmistakable voice of Moira Queen. _'I've taken care of it. Carl Ballard will not be a problem anymore.'_

 _'Given your propensity for squeamishness, I'm assuming that Mr. Ballard remains in good health._ ' A second voice, one he did NOT recognize, said.

 _'I made it clear to him persuasively that his plans endangered the undertaking. I didn't have to make the usual threats.'_

 _'Excellent. Now, one more matter to attend to. I need you to have to contents of this address removed and disposed of thoroughly. The warehouse where you're storing the remains of 'The Queen's Gambit'.'_

 _'I already told you, I knew Robert's yacht was sabotaged.'_

Shocked, Nathan shut the device off.

"I'm sorry, babe." Helena said apologetically, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"The yacht was sabotaged." Nathan gasped. "Somebody tried to kill my father."

"And your mother was involved somehow", Lyla said.

Nathan spun and glared at the woman. "You do not know that she was involved, Lyla!"

Lyla stared back impassively. "What I do know Nathan, and so do you, is that she kept this a secret. Why would she do that if she didn't have something to hide?" a faint buzzing sound could be heard. Lyla frowned. "Is that…"

"Yeah!" Nathan took out the phone and picked up the call. **"You have five seconds to say whatever the hell it is before I have this line permanently disconnected!"** He growled.

"It's Laurel. She's been kidnapped." Lance said without preamble. "Listen, whoever this is, he's going to kill my daughter. Please believe me."

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan awoke, his arms tied behind him, seated on a chair. He moved around, trying to wiggle out of the bonds._

 _"Sorry." Slade said, taking a pull from his canteen. He wiped his mouth and put the cap on, then moved to stand before Nathan. "It's nothing personal." He continued. "The airfield was a very heavily fortified position. I've been there. And I cannot take it on my own." He withdrew one of the swords from his back and held it at Nathan's throat._

 _"So-so what?! Huh? You're just going to kill me?" Nathan exclaimed, gasping in pain as the sword drew a thin line of blood._

 _"Like I said, it's nothing personal." Slade repeated as Nathan continued to struggle against the ropes. "But if you're alive, they will find you. And if they find you, they will torture you until you give up my location, and I cannot allow for that to happen."_

 _"Hey, don't…" Nathan shot to his feet. "No, please don't do this, all right?! I'm not going to say anything to that—" he pleaded. Slade pushed him back into the chair._

 _"Don't make it more difficult upon yourself. I can do this in a way that you will not feel it at all."_

 _Desperately, Nathan twisted his hand hard, and with an audible crack, dislocated his thumb. Sliding his hands free of the now loose rope, he dragged himself to his feet-_

 _And punched the other man._

 _Slade barely moved, but was finally impressed by the boy's determination. He chuckled in appreciation. He pulled Nathan upright, then extended his hand._

 _"Slade Wilson." He said, properly introducing himself._

 _"Nathaniel Queen." Nathan replied, taking the man's hand and shaking it the best he could with a dislocated thumb._

 _"Well, Nathaniel Queen, there might be a fighter inside of you after all." Slade said._

 **Flashback End**

Once more Detective Lance was standing on the roof of the Winick building, waiting for The Arrow- though this time he was alone.

 **"Detective**. **"** Lance spun around to see The Arrow standing behind him. **"If this is another trick, you will not like the consequences."** The Arrow warned.

Lance sighed. "I'm not particularly happy right now." He stated. "I hate you. I hate everything you stand for. But this lunatic has my little girl." He held up the recording arrow. "He left this behind as some kind of ransom note."

Nathan didn't even need to listen to it. **"His name is Cyrus Vanch."** He told the cop.

"Jeez…" Lance said. "He'll kill her if he doesn't get to you."

 **"He'll kill her anyway."** The Arrow said bluntly. **"So why come to me?"**

Lance sighed. "It's a pretty tight circle that knows about you and my daughter working together. If Vanch knows, it's because someone at the precinct talked. There isn't anybody else I could trust." He admitted.

" **Vanch is holed up in his ex-lawyers mansion. It's a heavily fortified position. I was there. I can't take it by myself."** The Arrow said.

"I need your help." Lance pleaded.

 **"I wasn't asking for** _ **your**_ **help."** The Arrow replied coldly, " **I have a partner for a reason. Given your propensity for getting in my way, you'd only be a liability, especially with that shoulder. Stay out of my way Detective."**

 **Vanch's Mansion**

He and Vivian were in the dining room with a bound Laurel seated at the head of the table.

"Time's running out." Vanch said casually. "And still no visit from your friend and his girlfriend. I might have overestimated his fondness for you." He said, yanking her head back by the hair and placing his knife at her throat.

"Assault with intent." A tearful Laurel said defiantly. "And kidnapping. You're going to rot in prison for life this time."

Vanch chuckled. "That's assuming your hooded BFF saves you. And his chances of survival are not so great. He's going up against trained men with their fingers on the trigger of guns that fire up to 600 rounds per minute. Now, I'm no Einstein, but that is a lot of bullets."

Outside, Nathan and Helena were bobbing and weaving through the shadows, taking out man after man, most before they even got one shot off.

"And even if they were to take them out, I have four sharpshooters on the roof."

Nathan spotted the sharpshooters, and then shot off a flashbang arrow. The explosion momentarily blinded the two sharpshooters, and that was all he needed to take hit his two in the chest, while Helena shot one in the laryx and the other in the head.

"And even if they were to get by them, what are they going to do against the veritable army of sons of bitches I've got waiting for them?"

More men fell. The untrained schmucks were helpless against the two vigilantes.

"Now, as I said, I'm no Einstein. But I can count to 56." Vanch continued, unaffected by the sounds of battle coming from outside. "And in case you're wondering- I was, so I studied up on my news footage—56 is the exact number of arrows, throwing knives, ninja stars, and crossbow bolts carried collectively by the Arrow and his girlfriend, The Huntress."

The Arrow walked into the house, but froze at the sound of a shotgun pumping. The gunman then had his throat sliced open by Helena, who grabbed his shotgun.

They snuck into the room where Vanch was holding Laurel. Nathan fired his arrow at Vivian, the arrow piercing through the back of her neck, the arrow head and shaft sticking out of her throat. "Vivian!" He shouted in shock as he looked on in horror as his girlfriend died. He froze when he heard a shotgun click behind him. He turned his head slightly to see a smirking Huntress.

" **Very good analysis, Mr. Vanch."** Nathan said as he walked into the room while clapping his hands with his bow holstered on his back, " **You are correct, of course. 56 is the total amount of arrows, throwing knives, ninja stars, and crossbow bolts carried collectively by me and my girlfriend. However, you made three critical errors."**

" **Number 1,"** He pulled out his bow, firing an arrow that lodged itself in Vanch's knee, causing him to shout in pain as he dropped to his knees, " **You assumed incorrectly that we used one projectile per person, or that we don't pick up after ourselves. After all, there is a reason the Police only ever find one or two projectiles projectiles at a scene. Number 2,"** He grabbed Vanch's arm and locked it out, delivering a harsh palm strike his elbow, shattering the joint and causing his ulna bone to stick out, causing him to bleed and scream in pain, " **You incorrectly assumed that we are completely useless without our weapons. And finally, number 3,"** Helena handed Nate the shotgun and he put the barrel in Vanch's mouth, " **You did not stop to consider the fact that we could just take your henchman's gun's if we ran out of ammo. Arrogance, is the downfall of all great men, Mr. Vanch. Remember that in your next life."** Nate pulled the trigger, and Vanch's brain matter erupted from the giant hole in his head.

" **Go. Knowing your father, he followed us here."** Helena said as she cut Laurel free. Nate and Helena watched to make sure she got out of the house and over to the Police squad that showed up before they made a break for it.

"Laurel, are you ok?" he asked his daughter as he hugged her tightly, afraid to let go.

"Yeah. I'm ok." She assured him.

 **SCPD**

Quentin was finishing up things up as Laurel sat perched on the side of his desk, wrapped in a blanket and holding a cup of strong coffee. Quentin came back into the squad room and walked over to her.

"All right, you're good to go." He told her. "I'll, uh, I'll take you home now."

Laurel stared at him for a moment, then shook her head. "I can take a cab." She said.

"Laurel, you had a trauma. I'll drive you home." Quentin insisted.

"No."

He looked at her, confused. "What?"

Laurel stood. "I'm going to need you to keep your distance for a while."

"Laurel…"

"Dad, I love you. I'll always love you." She assured him. "But what I can't do right now is trust you."

"I was just doing my job." He justified. "I thought you'd understand at least that."

"That part I do understand." She said. "But lying to me, using me?" she sighed. "It's going to take longer." She said, walking out.

Laurel walked out into the motor pool. Down the line of cars The Arrow stepped out.

 **"Are you all right?" he asked her.**

"What would you think if I said I didn't know?" she asked.

 **"That you were being honest."**

She sighed. "My father has the phone now. And I don't think he'll be giving it back any time soon."

 **"Maybe that's a good thing."** The Arrow replied. **"I didn't see how I was putting you in needless danger."**

"I'm a big girl. I knew the risks." She assured him.

 **"Now I know them."** He said. **"And I'm not willing to take them with you anymore."**

She looked at him, confused. "What does that mean?"

 **"It means I don't plan on contacting you again. This is goodbye."**

She wanted to say something, anything to make him change his mind, but suddenly she heard Tommy calling for her. She turned around to see him running towards him, and behind her The Arrow slipped away.

"Oh, my God, Laurel." Tommy cried, pulling her into his arms. "Laurel, tell me you are okay, please."

"No, no, I'm fine, I'm fine." She promised him. "I'm so sorry." She said tearfully, but Tommy just held her closer.

"No, no, it doesn't matter, just as long as you're okay." He told her. High above them both, Nathan watched with a smile on his face.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Nathan and Slade sat in front of a fire in the fuselage._

 _"You know, this does not change anything between you and I." Slade said. "It takes two men to take the air field. And if you compromise my getting off this island, I will kill you. You've had your second chance."_

 _"You need me just as much as I need you." Nathan said coldly. "So what's our next step?"_

 _Slade chuckled. "Turning you into something that won't get us both killed." He said. He waved his hand towards the crates lined along the side of the downed plane. "Choose a weapon."_

 _"We're starting now?" Nathan complained. Slade gave him a look, so he stood and walked over to the crate. He opened it and looked inside- and saw a frighteningly familiar mask. Pulling it out, he held up the black and orange mask, glaring at Slade._

 _"That's mine." He stated._

 _"You are the fucker who tortured me?!" Nathan snarled._

 _"No, that was another guy."_

 _"Bullshit!" Nathan exclaimed._

 _"This mask, it's my operational equivalent to a balaclava." he calmly explained. "My partner and I wore them to keep our identities classified during our missions."_

 _"You're lying. Fyers told me this nutcase is a prisoner on the island."_

 _"And Fyers is such a trustworthy individual?" Slade said calmly. "He lied to you. My partner and I came here to free Yao Fei and get him off this island. We're A.S.I.S.- Australian intelligence." He stepped back. "Now. You are going to find yourself a weapon. Have you considered a sword?" he smiled eerily. "I like swords."_

 **Flashback End**

 **At a bar**

 **Alleyway**

Officer Garett Reynolds was walking out of a bar after his shift was over. He was walking out of the alleyway when a sniper round pierced his chest, causing him to fall back with a decent hole in his chest.

Two rooftops away was Nathan with a high-powered sniper rifle. He had taken Vivian's phone to find out who the hell had told her about Laurel. He had hacked it, and found the number of Garrett Reynolds to find out what he looked like. Garrett Reynolds was one of many corrupt cops in the city and had been present during Lance's failed attempt to arrest him. He wouldn't be missed.

 **The Lair**

 **Later**

Nathan sat at his desk in the Lair, listening to the recording over and over _. 'I made it clear to him persuasively that his plans endangered the undertaking.'_ His mother's voice was saying. _'I didn't have to make the usual threats.'_

"I've listened to this 15 times." He told his partner as Lyla walked into the lair. "It's definitely her voice, Lyla. I just… I can't believe it's her."

"We all have blind spots when it comes to family." Lyla said.

"Yeah. Laurels' almost got her killed tonight. Vanch never would have known about her connection to me if Lance hadn't had lied to her."

"I guess the lesson here is blind trust can be dangerous." Lyla noted. Nathan turned the device back on. _'I made it clear to him persuasively that his plans endangered the undertaking. I didn't have to make the usual threats._ ' "What's the Undertaking?" Lyla wondered.

"I don't know." Nathan said. "But with all this talk about threats, it can't be good." He sighed.

"Look Lyla, I'm sorry about before. It's not that I didn't think it a possibility, I was just determined to not believe it. Before the island, my mother and I were close, closer than I was with my father. I was desperate to believe that she wasn't part of whatever the hell the Undertaking is, because I knew if I did, my whole world would shatter. You warned me that if she was lying it would be to cover up her involvement in something dangerous. I need to know what The Undertaking is."

"What are you going to do?" Lyla asked as Nathan rose.

Nathan looked at the man. "I need to have another chat with my mom."

 **Queen Consolidated**

Moira was in Walter's office, meeting with a pair of executives.

"I'll need the Unidac merger finalized by the end of the week." She told the men. "We're on something of a clock here."

Suddenly The Arrow crashed through the window. He landed in a roll, coming up to take out one of the guards. He attacked the second bodyguard as the executives fled, knocking him out with a vicious uppercut. The Arrow spun and fired an arrow at the desk lamp, destroying the bulb and sending the office into darkness. He knocked another arrow and held it pointed at Moira's heart.

 **"Moira Queen, you have failed this city."** He said, his voice disguised, as Moira stood, terrified, behind her desk.

 **Chapter End**

 **1: Nathan owns the Loft that Thea would buy in seaosn 3.**

 **SO, I'm thinking about keeping McKenna around and having her replace Quentin as the flip-flop cop. I'll be putting up a poll on my profile page, so let me know what y'll think.**

 **Talia will make appearance next chapter.**


	13. 13-First kill and the Demon's Daughter

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Sara Lance(Obviously, eventually), Laurel Lance(Eventually), Lyla(Will join soon), Amanda Waller(maybe, I don't know)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Carrie Cutter(After Some therapy), Evelyn Sharp, McKenna Hall, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor, Dinah Drake, Felicity, Harley Quinn**

 **No way in hell: Moira, Thea, Felicity**

 **Announcement: So, Felicity will NOT be part of the harem.  
**

 **FYI, I made another story called "A Special Gathering: The Black Arrow Universe", where the canon Arrowverse characters basically watch Nathan's story unfold. But I won't start posting regularly for that story until I finish season 1 because I need to focus, all my attention on this, so I will let you all know when I post that.**

 **Chapter 13: His first kill and the Demon's Daughter**

 **Chapter Start**

"I'll need the Unidac merger finalized by the end of the week." She told the men. "We're on something of a clock here."

Suddenly The Arrow crashed through the window. He landed in a roll, coming up to take out one of the guards. He attacked the second bodyguard as the executives fled, knocking him out with a vicious uppercut. The Arrow spun and fired an arrow at the desk lamp, destroying the bulb and sending the office into darkness. He knocked another arrow and held it pointed at Moira's heart.

 **"Moira Queen, you have failed this city."** He said, his voice disguised, as Moira stood, terrified, behind her desk. In desperation, she lunged for the phone, which The Arrow shot off of her desk **"DO NOT MOVE!"** he demanded.

"Please don't kill me." She pleaded, tears in her eyes.

 **"Do you know anything about your husband's disappearance?"**

"What?!"

 **"Is Walter Steel still alive?! Answer Me!"** he shouted.

"I don't know where my husband is." She told him. "I swear."

 **"Do you know anything about the Undertaking?"** Moira turned and grabbed something off the shelf behind her. **"I said DO NOT MOVE!"** he shouted.

Moira fell to her knees, holding a picture of himself and Thea in front of her like a shield. "I'm-I'm a mother." She pleaded. "I have a son-Nathan. A daughter, her name is Thea." Nathan stared at her, his face hidden from her view by the mask and hood. "She's just a teenager. Please don't take me from my children. They lost their father and their brother. They can't lose me, too. Please, whoever you are, please."

Nathan let out a slow breath. **"Okay."** He said, slowly lowering his bow. **"I'm not going to hurt you."**

That would prove to be a mistake.

Moira dropped the picture and turned, sliding up a panel on the hutch behind her. She grabbed the gun that was in inside and spun again, opening fire. Nathan was taken completely by surprise, making him duck for cover behind the secretaries desk.

The gun emptied, Moira dropped the gun and dug through her purse for her phone. Pulling it out, she dialed Securities number.

"This is Moira Queen, I'm on the 39th floor, I need help." She said breathlessly. "There's an intruder. Please!" Hanging up, Moira rose slowly and peered over the top of the desk-

But the Arrow was already gone. With a small drop of blood on the floor

Dropping through the air, Nate landed in parking lot in a crouch, breaking the pavement underneath him and creating a small crater. He clutched his hand over his eyes in pain. Pulling it away, he saw blood on his hand, and he could only see out of his right eye.

 **Arrow Lair**

 **Later**

Lyla, Helena, and Chien were watching a news report of the attack at Queen Consolidated.

 _'So far the Police are unwilling to comment, but unsubstantiated eyewitness reports claims that the Starling City vigilante 'The Arrow' attacked Mrs. Queen in her office earlier tonight. She was unharmed in the assault.'_

Chien sighed and muted the news, "He really should not have gone after his mother," she turned to Lyla, "You should have talked him down."

"It took me close to a week to get him to admit that there was something going on with his mother. I don't think I would have been able to talk him out of going after her when he thought she was involved in her husband's disappearance and besides, we need to know what this Undertaking is." Lyla admitted.

"He just found out that his mother might be behind the disappearance of his step-dad, and that she is working with the same person who sabotaged the _Gambit._ He's not going to be thinking clearly." Chien argued.

Hearing a noise from the stares, they all turned around sharply with their weapons ready, only to see it was Nathan with his mask and hood down, staggering in, and bleeding heavily from his left eye, said eye was also missing. "Hey, girls," He breathed, "I need a little help."

"Oh my god! What happened!?" Helena asked, while Lyla wrapped his arm around the back of her neck and held him upright.

"My mother, she...shot me," Nathan said.

"Here, let me see it," Chien as she turned his head to face him. She looked into the bleeding hole where his eye used to be. She could see his flesh trying to heal around the bullet.

"This is not good. His body is trying to heal itself around the bullet. If it still in there when it heals, he'll lose the eye for good. Where are your medical supplies, Nate?" Chien asked.

He pointed to a cabinet by his computer. "It's in the third door."

Helena cleared off a metal table while Chien grabbed a medical scalpel, a flashlight, and a pair of curved hemostat forceceps, while Lyla placed him on the table.

"Alright, I'm going to cut away the healing flesh. Once I do Helena, you need to pull the bullet out. Lyla, he's going to try to move, so you need to hold him down." Chien said as she began cutting and slicing the healing flesh away for a minute while he moved around some, cause it did hurt. After Chien had cut enough, she motioned for Helena to come forward while she shined the flashlight down the hole so Helena could see the bullet.

"This is gonna hurt a bit babe. But you are going to be okay." She whispered in his ear, soothing her boyfriend a bit before she reached in and gripped the bullet with the forceps and began twisting and turning it to lodge it out of place, causing Nate to violently jerk and smash the metal table, denting it, while Lyla held him down as he shouted in pain. After about 30 seconds of this, she managed to get the bullet out and placed it in a metal tray. Lyla cleaned off the blood as his eye began to heal. After all was said and done, Nathan was sound asleep, as Lyla had hit one of his pressure points to make him fall unconscious.

"So, now what?" Helena asked.

"Now, we let him rest. He'll much faster while he's unconscious." Chien said as Nathan mind drifted into the past.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan and Slade were sparing in the field around the fuselage. Slade was hurriedly trying to train up Nathan, but wasn't having much luck._

 _Hand to hand? Barely, kid was more of a brawler._

 _Fighting with a knife? A little better but still dead in 20 seconds._

 _Slade was trying him out on escrima sticks, and very soon introduced him to the concept of variable acceleration, sending the young man to the ground. Nathan pounded the ground in frustration, but picked himself back up, holding on to one of the bamboo sticks._

 _"How did you survive here for six months?" Slade asked. "I know girl scouts who have more fight in them."_

 _"Fighting girl scouts now, Slade, huh?" Nathan jibed. Slade effortlessly smacked the bamboo stick out of his hand. "Oww! What the hell?!" he exclaimed._

 _"Listen, kid." Slade growled in his gravelly voice. "We have ten days until the supply plane lands. Ten days to turn you into at least half a soldier. So start taking it seriously."_

 _Nathan attacked again, but soon Slade had completely disarmed him. "What is the point of this?!" he yelled. "These soldiers don't carry bamboo! They have guns! So what am I supposed to do if one of them jams a gun in my face, huh? Threaten them with my fucking stick?!" he shouted mockingly._

 _Slade glared at him, then dropped his sticks and drew his service pistol. He held it out to Nathan. "Jam this in my face." He told the younger man. At Nathan's hesitation, he gave him a look. "Do it."_

 _Reluctantly, Nathan took the gun. He knew what was coming, but did as he was told anyway and pointed the gun at Slade's face. In an instant, Slade had reached up and grabbed the gun, pushing it up and out. Still holding onto it he spun, driving his elbow into Nathan's spine. He then hooked he arm around Nathan's and flipped him over his back, pulling the gun from his limp hand. Nathan landed hard and Slade stood over him, his recovered firearm in his hands, pointed right at Nathan's head. "I give up!" Nathan exclaimed. "I give up."_

 _Angered, Slade hauled the boy to his feet and held the gun directly in his face. "There is no giving up to these guys!" he shouted. "No crying, or buying your way out of it! You have two choices- live, or die. So choose."_

 _Nathan glared at the man. "I choose to live." He said finally._

 _Slade let him go. "Then let me show you how not to die." He said. He turned and walked over to the fallen bamboo sticks, holstering his gun as he went. He bent down and picked two up, then tossed one to Nathan. Nathan caught it and they immediately clashed._

 _Later that night, Slade and Nate were in the fuselage of the plane. Slade pulled out several satellite photos of the island and laid them out on a makeshift desk._

 _"Lian Yu." Slade said._

 _"It's the name of the island, I know." Nathan replied. "It's Mandarin for 'Purgatory'."_

 _"It is? Wonderful." Slade said drolly._

 _"Is this the air strip?" Nathan asked, pointing at the map._

 _"A.S.I.S. took satellite images of the whole island." Slade explained, pointing to a spot on the map. "This is Fyers' main camp, where I was held for almost a year."_

 _Nathan looked up at the man. "Do-do you think that's where Yao Fei is now? 'Cause we could get a message to him." He said hopefully. "We can tell him we found a way off the island."_

 _"Forget about him." Slade said harshly. He moved over to the airstrip. "This is the airstrip. And these infrared images show there are at last ten soldiers guarding the perimeter at any given time."_

 _"Too many of 'em for you?" Nate said mockingly._

 _"No." Slade replied with a grin, sobering Nathan's mood fast. "My problem is the guy here in the tower. It's a PATC. A portable air traffic control tower. The U.S. government set up these for disaster zones, like Thailand after the Tsunami."_

 _Nathan looked at him. "So what's the problem?" he asked._

 _"The glass is bulletproof. I can't take out the tower guard with my sniper rifle." Slade explained. "And if he suspects anything's wrong, he'll radio Fyers and we're cancelled." Slade looked Nathan in the eyes. "It'll be up to you to take him out. Up close and personal. Are you ready for that?" he asked._

 _"Do you think I'm ready?" Nathan asked in response._

 _"What I think is there's only one supply plane every 3 months." Slade said. "We leave tomorrow, or we die soon afterwards. I pick leaving." He gave the boy one last look. "So get some sleep. We leave at 0600." The two men moved to opposite ends of the plane. Nathan sat down and pulled out the picture of Laurel, and stared at it._

 _"Don't worry." Slade called out. "You'll be back with your girlfriend soon enough." The two lay down to sleep._

" _She's not my girlfriend." Nathan muttered as he drifted off to sleep._

 _ **Dream**_

 _Nathan opened his eyes. He was laying in his bed at Queen Manor. Sighing, he rolled over to stare at Sara, who smiled sleepily at him._

 _"Morning." She said._

 _"Please don't hate me." Nathan asked softly, his eyes watering._

 _"Why would I hate you?"_

 _"For failing to keep you safe."_

 _Sara's smile faded, but only a little. "Did it hurt, Nathan?" she asked._

 _"Did what hurt?"_

 _"When they killed you?" she asked as Nathan lay there, a bullet hole in the heart…_

 **End Dream**

 _Nathan gasped as Slade shook him awake. "Rise and shine." He said, moving off. He grabbed several bags and tossed them to Nathan. He grabbed another bag, then reached into an open crate and withdrew his mask. He stared at it for several moments, then tossed it back into the crate and slammed the lid shut. "Come on. We're moving out." The two men left the downed plane and began the long trek through the woods._

 _They walked for hours, crossing the rocky terrain and darting between trees. They were crossing a river when Slade motioned for him to stop with a raised fist. He listened hard, but heard no evidence of pursuit. "All clear." He called out and finished crossing the shallow river. Nathan lagged behind._

 _"Hey, can we, um, can we rest for a second?" he asked._

 _"You can rest on the plane." Slade growled._

 _Nathan scoffed, but started walking again. "Damn, well, really looking forward to that in-flight movie-"_

 _Click._

 _Nate froze in place, his eyes wide like a deer in headlights. "Oh, fuck me." He said. Slade, having heard the click, spun around to face the boy._

 _"Don't move." He ordered him, dropping his gear and lying on the ground in front of Nathan. Carefully he started digging around Nathan's foot with his hands, exposing the edges of a landmine._

 _"That's a landmine, isn't it?" Nathan asked in fear._

 _"Yeah." Slade confirmed._

 _"Fryers had mines placed all over the fucking island!?"_

 _"No, it's probably Japanese, left over from World War II." Slade explained. "Still active. Impressive, considering how old it is." He commented._

 _"Can you disarm it?" he asked as Slade rose to his feet._

 _"Without disarming you? The trigger is rusted over. I couldn't disarm it even with the right equipment." Slade replied. Suddenly his eyes widened as he glimpsed something over Nathan's shoulder. "Soldiers."_

 _Nathan looked over his shoulder as much as he could. "Can they see us?"_

 _"They can only see you." He replied. Slade ripped the bags off of Nathan's shoulder, and then turned and ran back into the forest._

 _"Wait!" Nathan yelled. "Stop!" Angered by the desertion, Nathan took a second to think of what to do. Seeing only one option, he pulled out his balaclava and put it on just as the three soldiers came upon him._

 _"What are you doing so far from camp?" the first soldier said as the three surrounded him._

 _"I was separated from my unit." Nathan lied smoothly._

 _The soldier grunted. "Come with us."_

 _"I-I can't." Nathan said, gesturing towards his foot and the landmine beneath it. The soldiers all looked down to stare at the device. "I'm kinda stuck, you know?"_

 _With a deafening roar, Slade suddenly leapt out of the trees at the soldiers, his sword drawn. Nathan ducked down as Slade impaled the first, then ripped the sword out and wound in a wide arc, slitting the other two's throats. As the last soldier's body dropped, Nathan lifted his head, looking in astonishment._

 _Slade kneeled down in front of him. "Be still." He said. Then, grabbing the soldiers body, he yanked it forward with him as he leapt, pushing Nathan off the mine at the same moment the dead weight of the body fell on it, keeping the mine primed but unexploded._

 _ **Mercenary Camp**_

 _Yao Fei was walking across the main road, nodding to the guards stationed at the command tent before entering. Inside Fyers sat at his desk, going over some paperwork. He looked up and gave him a friendly smile._

 _"Yao Fei. Come in." he gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Sit." Fyers rose and turned around, opening a case on the table behind him. "Now the first time I saw you with this contraption I thought you looked utterly ridiculous." He said, taking out a longbow. He turned back to Yao Fei and set the bow down on his desk. "That is, until you took out three of my best men with it." He sat down. "25 compound bows will be arriving on tomorrow's supply plane. I'd like you to train a few of my men on how to use them."_

 _"Archery takes years to master." Yao Fei hedged._

 _Fyers looked back indifferently. "Well, I trust you'll be a proficient instructor." He said. "That'll be all."_

 _Yao Fei rose to leave just as Wintergreen came into the tent. The two men glared at one another. "I hope you are steadfast in your commitment to our cause, Yao Fei." Fyers said. "For her sake."_

 _Yao Fei glanced over at Fyers. "I am." He said, and then walked out, Wintergreen's eyes never leaving him._

 _ **The Forest**_

 _ **That Night**_

 _Nathan was rubbing two sticks together, trying to start a fire while Slade was checking and cleaning his sniper scope._

 _"Obviously you were never a boy scout." Slade remarked at Nathan's lack of success._

 _"Yeah? What gave me away?" he shot back._

 _"We better hurry. The wolves come out at night." Slade said, grinning._

 _Nathan looked up. "There are wolves here?" he asked, then sighed in aggravation and said sarcastically "Right. Of course there are. Because what would the worst place on earth be without bloody wolves?"_

 _"The only thing that will keep them out is fire." Slade said._

 _"Well, you know, you're more than welcome to help." Nathan said finally, glaring at the other man. Slade calmly reached into his pants pocket and withdrew a Zippo lighter. With a flick, the lid was open and the lighter was lit, and he reached down and lit the kindling on fire as Nathan stared in disbelief. "Seriously?" he deadpanned. "I've been working on this for two hours."_

 _"I know. I was watching you." He said, attaching the scope to his rifle. "Thank you for the entertainment."_

 _Later still, Nathan was sitting at the fire, staring at the picture of Laurel._

 _"You're going to wear that thing out just by looking at it." Slade noted. "Don't worry. She'll be waiting for flowers when you get back."_

 _"I doubt it." Nathan said. "Remember how I told you I was shipwrecked here?" Slade nodded. "Her sister was with my brother when the boat went down."_

 _"That's funny. I never took you as being 'that guy'." Slade told him.  
_

 _"I'm not. My brother was the one dating this girl in the picture, and was cheating on her with her sister, who was my best friend." Nathan said emphatically. "I've pined after the girl in the picture for several years now. Her sister was my best friend and I promised myself to always keep her safe. I failed."_

 _"If you really think you could have protected her from a freak accident like how you described… you're dumber than I thought, kid. And believe me when I tell you that is saying something."_

 _"Yeah, well, you don't really strike me as the type of guy who accepts apologies, so." Nathan threw his hands up in defeat._

 _"Well, everybody is in this life for themselves." Slade said with conviction._

 _"Learn that at Australian spy school?" Nathan asked mockingly._

 _"No. I learned that here." He sighed heavily. "Do you remember I told you that I had a partner?"_

 _"Yeah."_

 _"Do you remember the guy who tortured you?" he asked. Nathan thought back to the man in the mask who had tortured him so many months ago._

 _"That freak show was your partner?!" Nathan exclaimed._

 _"His name's Billy Wintergreen." Slade explained._

 _"Oh."_

 _"Our mission was to exfiltrate Yao Fei and to find out why Fyers and his men were so interested in him. But our bird got shot out of the sky before we even saw the airstrip."_

 _"That's where I found you." Nathan said in realization. Slade nodded._

 _"When Fyers took us prisoner, he asked if we would join him and his men. Billy accepted Fyers' invitation. I declined. He was the godfather to my son, Joe. And yet, he turned his back on me without even thinking twice about it. Everybody is in this life for themselves!" he repeated. Sighing, he got up to do a quick patrol around their small camp, leaving Nathan alone with the fire._

 _Later that night, Slade and Nathan stealthy approached the airstrip. They stopped at the edge, looking around. Slade pointed to the tower. "If you let him radio camp, we're done." He said. He drew one of his swords and handed it to Nathan._

 _"What about the others?" Nathan asked._

 _"You worry about your one. I'll worry about my ten." Nathan nodded, then moved off to the tower, pausing only to pull down his mask._

 _Back on the island, Slade took down the soldiers with mechanical precision, clearing a path for Nathan to the tower. Nathan ran, reaching the tower and clambering up the steps. He paused at the door, slowly peeking in the window inside and seeing only person working at the radio. Slowly, he reached up and opened the door, and moved inside. He crept up on the soldier, but he spotted Nathan out of the corner of his eye and jumped up. Nathan swung clumsily with the sword; the soldier ducked and sent Nathan sprawling into the equipment. The soldier drew his sidearm and aimed it at Nathan, who tried in vain to disarm the man the same way Slade had disarmed him the day before. The solder contemptuously threw Nathan off of him and back into the equipment and held him there, reaching for his radio to call in the attack._

 _Nathan watched as the soldier reached for the radio- then flinched back as a sword protruded through the man's chest. Slade pulled out the sword, letting the man's body drop to the floor._

 _"One job to do, and you manage to screw up even that." Slade said sarcastically. He reached for the radio and hung it back up. "I'm going to go make sure that everything is clear. Stay here, keep the door locked. Do not let anybody in except for me. You got that?"_

 _"Yeah." Nathan replied._

 _"Here," Slade handed him the soldiers' sidearm. "Keep this. And try not to shoot yourself by mistake."_

 _Slade walked out, leaving Nathan alone in the tower. He looked around, looking at all the equipment- and spotted a military satellite phone. Hesitantly he reached for the receiver. Picking it up, he dialed a familiar number. But he didn't call, so filled with shame at his failure that he was frozen for a moment. Instead of calling Laurel, he set the phone down._

 _Slade came back in the tower._

 _"Well, at least you didn't try to call anybody." he quipped. "They might be monitoring the calls."_

 _Nathan sighed, but before he could say anything the radio sounded._

" _This is Skyhawk 801 Foxtrot, we are 700 kilometers southeast of your position. ETA, three hours, 22 minutes, over."_

 _Slade took the mic. "Island tower, Skyhawk 801 Foxtrot. Acknowledged." There was silence. Worried, Slade hit the mic again. "Skyhawk 801 Foxtrot. Acknowledged."_

" _Of all creatures that breath and move upon the earth." was said over the radio.  
_

 _Slade looked worried, Nathan was just confused. "What is that?" Nathan asked._

 _"It's a challenge code." Slade explained. "They're trying to verify our identity." He lifted the mic once more. "Skyhawk 801 Foxtrot. Please repeat."_

" _Of all creatures that breath and move upon the earth." was said again.  
_

 _"Wait." Nathan said._

 _"What?" Slade asked._

 _"Wait, I know this. I know this!" he said. "They picked one of the books that I read in college."_

 _"What the hell are you talking about?" Slade demanded._

 _"It's a quote, from 'The Odyssey'." He explained, thinking furiously. "Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing-nothing is bred that is weaker than man."_

" _Are you sure about this? Because if you're wrong, this plane will turn around." Slade said._

 _"Yes, yes. I'm positive." Nathan assured the man. "Nothing is bred that is weaker than man. Say it."_

 _Slade lifted the mic up and activated it. "Nothing is bred that is weaker than man." He said, staring at Nathan._

" _Roger that". The voice on the radio said a moment later. "See you in a few hours. Out."_

 _Slade looked at Nathan, impressed. "'The Odyssey'." He said._

 _"Yeah! It's, uh, well, it's a story about a guy who's trying to get home, so..." He gave a relieved sigh._

 _"Well, after a few days at Langstughl Airbase, you'll be on your way home." He assured the boy._

 _Nathan looked at him in confusion. "But you sound like you're not coming with me." He said._

 _"I'll be coming with you." Slade replied. "After I radio in an airstrike on this location. I'm going to send Fyers and all his men straight back to hell."_

 _"Wait." Nathan said, stopping the man in his tracks. "You can't blow up the island. Yao Fei is still out there."_

 _"He is not my concern." Slade said._

 _"Really? He's the only reason you came here." Nathan replied. "Rescuing him was your mission!"_

 _"Well, the mission has changed." Slade seethed. "Edward Fyers is a world-class mercenary and he is not on this island by mistake. He has plans for me and you that involve Yao Fei. And whatever they are, they must end."_

 _"Yao Fei saved my life." Nate said plainly._

 _"That is your debt to repay, not mine." Slade said simply. Nathan looked at him, then walked past him towards the door. Slade reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Where are you going?!" he demanded._

 _Nathan stared back at him. "For most of my life," he began, "all that I've ever thought about was myself. I took my family for granted. I was selfish and thoughtless and I hurt people I loved. And I refuse to be that person anymore." He stood straighter. "I can't leave Yao Fei here to die." He stated. "I won't."_

 _"The plane leaves in three hours." Slade said. "If you and your friend are not on it, I am going to leave without you."_

 _Nathan nodded, then turned back and opened the door. He stepped halfway out, then stopped and turned back to Slade. "If I don't make it back in time, and you get out of here, I want you to call my family." He told him. "Call my family."_

 _Slade stared back, a myriad of emotions playing over his face. "Sure, kid." He said finally._

 _Nathan went out the door, then ran down the stairs and sprinted across the airfield to the forest, heading for the main camp._

 **The Camp**

 _Nathan stealthily approached the camp, ducking behind a truck as several soldiers walked past. By chance he spotted Yao Fei entering a tent; once the coast was clear he ran across the road and ducked into the tent._

 _Yao Fei looked up in surprise. "How did you-"_

 _"Come on, let's go." Nathan said. "I'll explain on the way."_

 _"Stupid boy. You should never have come back here!" he exclaimed._

 _"I found Slade Wilson and he has a way off the island, but we have to go right now." Nathan said quickly._

 _"No."_

 _Nathan looked puzzled. "No! What? What do you mean, no? This is our chance. What-what reason could you possibly have for staying here?!" he asked._

 _"Not what." Yao Fei said. "Who."_

 _Suddenly Fyers entered the tent, followed by Wintergreen. Thinking fast, Yao Fei punched Nathan in the face, sending him to the ground._

 _"Ah, Mr. Queen," he said as his vision dimmed. "I think its past time you left this island. Permanently."_

 _Back at the PATC, Slade was still manning the radio._

 _"Skyhawk 801 Foxtrot. This is island tower. You're clear to land." Slade said. He checked his watch, then looked up, considering._

 _Back at the camp, a bound Nathan was thrown into a ring of soldiers, much like the night Yao Fei 'killed' him._

 _"Simply to satisfy my own curiosity, why aren't you already dead?" Fyers asked. "I saw Yao Fei choke you to death."_

 _"He's not as strong as he looks." Nathan quipped darkly. The surrounding soldiers laughed._

 _"Still, you return for him." Fyers said. "So you're either a fool, or is it possible you now think yourself a hero?"_

 _"I'm not a hero." Nathan said quietly._

 _"Of course not." Fyers replied. "It's not possible to be a hero when there's nobody worthy of saving." Fyers turned and walked out of the circle._

 _"Is this what you want?" he called out to him. "Did you want me to fight him again?!"_

 _Fyers turned around. "Oh, no, Mr. Queen. That's where you're mistaken." He said. "This is not a match. It's an execution."_

 _"I'm sorry." Yao Fei said._

 _He felt more than heard the man approach, and Nathan turned to see Wintergreen standing there._

 _"It's Wintergreen, right? Billy Wintergreen?" Nathan asked defiantly. Wintergreen backhanded him hard across the face, staggering the boy. Nathan pulled himself up. "I know all about you. I know you work for the Australian government. Or rather you used to. And that you used to fight for your country. That you used to stand for something!" he shouted. Wintergreen let loose with a devastatingly quick combo of lefts and rights that sent Nathan to his knees._

 _Wintergreen unsheathed his sword and cut Nathan's bonds, and he managed to push himself back to his feet and he pulled out his knife, managing to use what little skill he had acquired to parry away several strikes. He went for a kill thrust, only to have Wintergreen knock the knife out of his hands. He then sliced each of Nathan's arms 3 times before Wintergreen hit him twice more, sending him back to his knees. Wintergreen reached down and grabbed Nathan by the throat as the soldiers looked on. "Whatever he's paying you, I'll quadruple it." Nathan gasped._

 _Suddenly, and explosion ripped through the camp. Soldiers in the circle started dropping by sniper fire, even as more explosions rocked the camp. Wintergreen dropped Nathan to the ground and stood there defiantly, even as Fyers and Yao Fei ran for cover._

 _"How many of them are there?!" Fyers shouted into his radio. Nathan ran off and ducked behind a truck as Slade Wilson walked towards Wintergreen._

 _"Slade." His old friend said. "Come back to die?"_

 _Slade withdrew his sword and attacked. Nathan watched as his former tormentor battled his new found ally in a fast, brutal fight, while he ripped the sleeves of his outer jacket and used them as a bandage to stop the bleeding from the cuts Billy had given him. Both men hit hard, aiming to maim and appeared to evenly matched for a few moments, but Slades more solid style proved superior to Wintergreen's kick oriented style, as he hit Billy hard in the eye, causing him to stagger.  
_

 _"Was it really so easy for you to betray me, Billy?" Slade asked through gritted teeth. Wintergreen took a swipe with his sword, but Slade caught his arm, twisting it, then landed several hard punches to Wintergreens head, staggering him. Finally he took his sword and held it up to Wintergreen's throat. "Well Billy, you always had a good kick." He snarled, and then jammed the sword through his eye._

 _Slade dropped the body and looked over at Nathan, who rose from behind the truck. All of the sudden a shot rang out and Slade went down, hit in the arm. Nathan saw Fyers behind another truck, firing his sidearm, so he ran to Slade, grabbing a Type-95 assault rifle off the ground as he went. He pulled up Slade and returned fire, forcing Fyers to take cover as two of the bullets hit his arm._

 _"Come on! Come on!" Nathan urged, pulling Slade to cover. He was leading him down the road when suddenly a soldier appeared, jamming his gun in Nathan's face. On pure instinct, Nathan disarmed the soldier exactly as Slade had done to him days earlier, much to Slade's amazement._

 _Holding the gun on the fallen soldier, he was at the crossroads. If he killed this person, he could never go back to how he used to be. But if he didn't, him and Slade were dead. As the soldier groaned and tried to get up, he growled, pulling the hammer on the gun back and forced himself to pull the trigger, sending a bullet through the soldiers head. Not that any of the merc's could hear it since the sound of the gunshot was drowned out by the roar of the plane passing overhead._

 _As the body of his first kill fell limp and Slade looked impressed, the sounds of engines roaring overhead caused the men to look up to see the cargo plane abort its landing and takeoff back into the sky._

 _"There goes our plane." Slade said needlessly._

 _Later, back at the fuselage, Nathan was digging Fyers bullet out of Slade's arm with a K-Bar knife. Slade screamed through gritted teeth, his arms flexing but unmoving thanks to the ropes that secured his wrists behind his back. Nathan finally managed to get the bullet out, and then stepped back to compose himself._

 _"Wow." Slade gasped in pain. "I'm impressed. You didn't puke when you shot that guy."_

 _"I swallowed it." Nathan admitted weakly._

" _You gonna be okay?" Slade asked._

 _Nathan looked at the gun and his shaking hands, before turning the safety on it on, and put it in a holster, and holding his hands to try to stop the shaking. "I didn't feel anything. I thought I'd feel something, but I didn't."_

" _It was self-defense, kid." Slade pointed out._

" _I know that. I killed him, cause he was gonna kill us. I think I'll be okay, I just—I thought I'd feel something, you know? Ashamed, disgusted with myself, but no. I don't feel anything." Nathan gasped, kind of put off by how dissociated he was from the kill._

 _"You can untie me now." Slade said after a minute, which Nathan did._

 _"Why'd you want me to tie you up in the first place?" he asked._

 _"A man in pain is unreliable." Slade explained._ _"I was afraid I might try to kill you." He examined the wound. "Thanks." Suddenly Nathan started chuckling. Slade looked up at the boy. "What?"_

 _"It's just… I'm trapped on an island and my only friend is named Wilson."_

 _"So." Nathan moved off, sighing. "What now?" he asked._

 _"We hope my fireworks show set Fyers back, maybe enough for those who hired him in the first place to call things off." Slade said._

 _"Hired him?"_

 _"Well, Fyers is a merc. He follows the money. So he's on this island under someone's employ." Slade explained._

 _"Then what do we do?" Nathan asked._

 _"We have to make sure that neither of us dies on this godforsaken island." Slade said._

 _"I thought you said if we didn't get on the plane… we weren't going to make it." He said_

 _Slade looked at Nathan with a genuine smile. "Well, that dumb kid that I trained, he would never have made it. You?" He held out his hand, and Nathan grasped it firmly. "You might just have a chance." Slade declared._

 _ **Mercenary Camp**_

 _ **Night**_

 _Fyers was talking to employer on his satellite phone._

 _"Yes, it's Fyers."_

" _Satellites showed multiple heat blooms on the island". A man's voice said. "What the hell is happening there?"_

 _"There was a complication."_

" _Slade Wilson"_

 _"I'm handling it."_

" _Handle it better. I've worked too hard and planned for too long to have complication arise near the end."_

 _"I assure you, it won't happen again."_

" _And Yao-Fei?"_

 _"I've ensured his cooperation."_

" _Good. I've paid you a lot of money Fryers. I expect a return on my investment."_

 _The call ended, and Fyers hung up his phone. He looked up to see Yao Fei walking towards him._

 _"You sent for me." The Asian man said._

 _"I'm a man of my word." Fyers said. "You made the right call today, turning in your young castaway. And for that, I'll grant you five minutes."_

 _Fyers walked to the command tent, where a young, dark haired Asian woman lay on the ground. She was dressed in a tank top and cargo pants, and her hands were bound in front of her._

 _"Shado? Shado! Shado!" he exclaimed, running to her and dropping to his knees. He pulled the woman into a hug._

" _Father?" She asked in her native language._

" _I'm so sorry." He replied in the same language._

" _Father, what's happening?" She asked tearfully._

 _"Shh, shh, shh." He held her close. "It will all be over soon." he assured her. He held her close, his arms tightening around her back._

 _On her left shoulder was a tattoo of a dragon's head, the same one that now adorned Nate's shoulder._

 **Flashback End**

Nate awoke to find himself shirtless on the cold steel table. He slowly sat up and sat on the edge. "I guess I didn't die." He said weakly as Lyla, Chien and Helena looked down. "Cool." Lyla shook her head, Chien rolled her eyes, and Helena laughed a little.

He moved over to a mirror and looked at his left eye. The eye lid was bright red and his eyeball, while it was still there in the socket, was pure white, no pupil, iris, or sclera. Only the blood vessels in the eye could be seen.

"Your eye hasn't fully healed yet. It's going to need at least a week before it fully regenerates and you can use it again." Chien said.

"Something I've been wondering, Chien. How did you know about how his eye would heal?" Helena asked her harem sister.

"It's not the first time he's been shot in the eye. This happened a few times while we served in Hong Kong's Triad Branch, called the Red Dragons." She said.

"Well," Nathan said walking over to a drawer, and pulling out a black eyepatch, same as the one that Slade now wore, and put it over his left eye, "This gives me an excuse to wear this again."

Helena walked up to him and gave him a passionate kiss which he returned. "I'm glad you're okay." Helena said. Pulling away she said, "I have to go. I won't be able to come by for a while. I'm in the process of taking over my father's construction company. I'll be back once I have it in my grasp. I love you."

"I love you too, Helena." Nate said as she left.

Chien came over and kissed him as well. "Don't worry us like that. I have to go a check on the Triad. Come see me later, my beloved Jīnfā guówáng?" **(1)**

"I promise I will. I love you, my Bái fà nǚwáng" He whispered in her ear. **(2)**

Chien left as well and that left him with Lyla.

"I guess I should apologize for not talking you down. If I had, you wouldn't have gotten shot." Lyla said, feeling bad about him almost losing his eye. Nathan merely walked over to her with a smile and hugged her gently, which she slowly returned.

"Don't worry about it. I'm as obstinate as Mount Everest when I want to be. You couldn't have talked me down even if you wanted to." He said as he kissed her on the forehead. She pulled away from him as she was getting just a little bit flustered.

She composed herself and said, "On a brighter note, I hacked the crime lab and had the sample of your blood that they found at the scene destroyed, so you're good there."

"Thanks for that." He said as he started to change into civilian clothes. Lyla turned away so she wouldn't be tempted to jump his bones. After all, she remembered the last time they had sex, which was after he had dealt with Baron Reiter.

"You still planning on recruiting that girl?" she asked.

"What girl?" Nate asked as he put black jeans and his brown biker boots and brown belt on.

"You know, that blonde girl who works in your IT department." Lyla clarified.

"Fuck no." Nathan said as he put on a gray short sleeved T-shirt, and brown leather jacket. He turned to look at Lyla, who was a bit a confused, as he had previously told her he was planning to recruit the girl.

"Yes, I was originally planning on recruiting her, but that was before I had done all my research on her." He went over to his computer and pulled up some files and started reading.

"Felicity was born in 1989, to Donna Smoak and Noah Kuttler, who is also widely considered by ARGUS to be the best hacker in the world. When she was very young, her father abandoned her and her mother. She reportedly lived in Las Vegas with her mother until she went to college at MIT."

"At a young age, Felicity became interested in computers, claiming to have been building them since she was 7. However, she was always fearful that she would wind up as a cocktail waitress like her mother and worked hard to escape from her circumstances. Due to their wildly different personalities, Felicity had a strained relationship with her mother. When she was 19, Felicity was ranked 2nd in the National Information Technology competition."

"So what the problem with her then?" Lyla asked, not getting the point.

Nathan pointed to another section of his little dossier that he put together about Felicity. "The problem starts here."

"During her senior year at MIT, Felicity dated fellow computer whiz Cooper Seldon. Both of them were members of a hacktivist group on campus, along with Cooper's roommate Myron Forest, as well as part of a cyber-goth subculture. Cooper apparently managed to successfully create a "super virus" which was originally meant for so-called " _ **noble"**_ actions - digitally defacing criminals, exposing government fraud. At one point, Cooper attempted to use the program to hack into the campus' infrastructure to delete all the student loans but he failed. Cooper was later arrested by the FBI for his hack attempt and he went to prison. Felicity tried to get him out by confessing she'd written the virus. However, Cooper had apparently already confessed. When Cooper was about to sentenced, he (allegedly) hung himself to Felicity's devastation. She apparently dyed her hair blonde after that."

"Now I myself know that Cooper is dead because one of my mission's that Waller gave me when I still worked for Argus was to infiltrate the NSA, since they had faked his death to recruit him, and put two bullets in his head. And I did. One of my clones is going to take care of Myron Forest later today. But Felicity Smoak has shown herself to be a very skilled hacker, through my little tests. After finding all that, I am convinced she is the true creator of the Virus."

"So why were you interested in recruiting her, if you already suspected that?" Lyla asked, curious as to what the method to the madness was.

Nate pulled up a name. It read _'Ghost Fox Goddess'_. "Because before I killed him, he only gave me an alias, Ghost Fox Goddess. It wasn't until I started researching Felicity more in-depth in the last month that I finally managed to put a face to the alias, though it took my clone nearly 7 days of non-stop researching to do it."

"What does this virus do?" Lyla asked.

"It's called the X-axis bi-numeric algorithm. It's designed to infect every server on a network and give whoever is using it root access to any server infected by it. If you infected, say, FBI servers, with this virus, you could literally go in and take or do whatever the hell you want and they wouldn't even know you were there until it was too late. It's also completely undetectable. Your Argus virus protection software can't protect against this."

"My god." Lyla breathed, realizing the implications of what this virus was. This was basically a nuclear warhead for a hacker.

"Yeah, I spent two years studying this virus before I made my own version of it. I currently have SCPD, City Hall, and CNRI infected with it. I have several algorithms running in conjunction with it to see when anything interesting comes up. It's how I found out who the hell tipped off Cyrus Vanch's girlfriend about the nature of Lance's failed attempt to catch me."

"And how do I know you won't use this to cause chaos and havoc?" Lyla said, uneasy that such a dangerous virus was in anyone's hands.

"Because my version of this virus is only designed to infect one server, instead of spreading to every single one on a network. Plus, only I can utilize it, and it has a kill switch that I can use whenever I want or that will automatically activate whenever someone other than me finds it and tries to use it, making it so no one can ever make a copy of this virus, ensuring it never gets into the wrong hands and threatens national security." Nathan moved to leave. "I gotta go see my mom and sister. Let them know I'm okay."

 **Later that morning**

Nathan finally walked into Queen Manor _._ As he walked through the foyer, he heard his mother speaking to someone in the sitting room. Walking in he saw Moira, with Thea next to her, talking to Detective Lance.

"… 6'1, and a deep voice." She was describing. She stopped when Nathan entered the room.

"Hey." Nathan said. "What's going on?" he asked, feigning ignorance.

Thea jumped to her feet and stalked towards him. "Where have you been?" she demanded. "I've been calling you all night!"

"Sorry, my phone's dead and I didn't have my charger with me." He told her.

"Well then, maybe it's time you invest in a battery." She said, her arms crossed in annoyance. "Also why are you wearing an eyepatch?"

"I hit my eye around some of the construction, and now my eye is swollen, so I'm letting it heal."

"Thea." Moira chastised lightly.

Lance stood. "Your mother was attacked last night." He said. "By the Arrow."

"What?!" he exclaimed.

"He came after me at the office." Moira said.

"Did he hurt you? Are you ok?"

"Actually, she hurt him." Lance said. "She shot him point blank with a gun hidden in her office."

"That should help with your investigation." Nathan said. "Did you get any evidence, like a blood sample, or..."

Lance cleared his throat uneasily. "There was a screw-up at the lab." He admitted.

"That's too bad." Nathan said, playing along.

"Hmm." Lance replied. He looked over at Moira. "We'll be in touch." he said.

"Thank you." Moira said as Lance walked out. She looked over to Nathan, and then grabbed him in a hug. "Oh, sweetheart. I was so scared."

"I'm just glad you're ok." He told her.

"I thought he was going to kill me." She admitted.

"Hey." Nathan pulled back slightly, but kept his hands on her shoulders. "I promise you, he's never going to bother you again." He told her, and then hugged her once more. He'd leave her alone for now until he figured out more about the Undertaking.

 **Later that night**

Down in the parking garage, Felicity Smoak walked towards her Mini after a long day in the I.T. Department. She got in her car and started it, but it didn't start. She tried several times to start it, but it wouldn't start.

"Great, battery's probably dead." She muttered. She got her phone out and made to call a tow-truck, but a hand broke through the glass and pulled her out of the car, throwing her into the one of the pillars on the parking garage.

"Ahh!" she screamed in pain, as broken glass lay all around her and her left leg was broken. The Arrow dropped onto the top of her car startling her. His costume was the same but this time he was wearing a set of goggles **(3).**

"Oh, My God!" She said in fright. "You're the Arrow!"

The Arrow said nothing for a minute before saying, " **Felicity Smoak,"** Nate said, aiming an arrow at her chest, " **You have failed this city."**

"Wha-What!? I'm not one of your one percenters! I haven't done anything!" She pleaded with him.

" **I don't limit myself to just the corrupt 1%. I go after all deviants and corruptions in society that reside in my city. Now answer my question. What do you know about the X-axis bi-numeric Algorithm?"** He asked, shocking Felicity.

"What!? How could you possible know about that!?" Felicity shouted. She had, after all, deleted every piece of information about it from the web.

" **How else would I know? I've studied you. How you used to be a part of a hacktivist group in MIT. How you used to date Cooper Seldon. How he 'allegedly' created said virus."** Nate listed off.

"What does my ex-boyfriend have to do with this!? He killed himself when the FBI arrested him!" She shouted.

" **Yeah….about that. His death was faked. Your former lover was recruited by the NSA to work for them, but he didn't last that long…considering I put two bullets in his head."** Nate admitted.

"You killed him?" She said with tears freely running down her eyes, "You monster! He didn't create virus, I did! He took fall for me! I created that virus with the noblest of intentions in mind!"

" **You mean stealing government secrets, and putting the national security of the USA at risk? Do you have any idea the number of atrocities that have been committed throughout history by psychopaths who have used that excuse? The road to hell is typically paved with good intentions, Ms. Smoak. You should have thought about that before you created something that could destabilize the civilized world and throw it into chaos. And for the record, I already figured out you were the real creator of the virus, your ex-boyfriend told me your hacker alias right before I killed him."** Nate said as he let the arrow fly true, striking Felicity in the heart, " **I just wanted you to admit it."** A beeping could be heard from the arrow, and then the device on the arrow exploded, delivering an explosive charge, separating Felicity's body into four different pieces. Satisfied with his work, he left, leaving the recording he had made and the four pieces of the body for the police or whoever the hell found the shrieking banshee's corpse.

 **Later**

Nathan came into his loft and was ready to crash for the night. He told his mom and Thea about his plans to move into the loft he had bought, and it took nearly a whole hour to get them to agree, with numerous promises about maintaining contact and making sure he visited often, but eventually both women relented.

He was about to go up the stairs when he realized something was wrong. There was someone uninvited in his home, though it was a familiar heartbeat and scent. He quickly reached for one of the sword racks that he had all over his loft and pulled a katana out of it's sheathe and in the nick of time, blocked a sword strike that would have surely decapitated him. Quickly disarming his assailant, he forced her up against the wall.

"You sure know how to greet someone," Nathan said as he pulled down her veil and hood to reveal the face of his beloved, "Talia." **(4)**

"Beloved." Talia said with passion and love as she wrapped her arms around his neck and the passionately embraced.

 **Lemon**

Ripping each of their clothes until Nathan was shirtless and Talia was down to her sexy black lingerie, he carried her upstairs to his massive king-sized bed. Nate kissed Talia as she leaned back to lay on the bed with him on top of her. She moaned hotly as he sucked on her neck, one hand on her breast and the other rubbing her soaking pussy.

Raising his head from her neck, he kissed her lips, biting on her lower lip. Talia gave a smile before kissing him fully, enjoying the passion between them as they started grinding against one another.

"Beloved," Talia whispered husky as Nate continued to suck on her neck "Give it to me, I need you inside of me. It's been too long."

Nate stopped what he was doing, looking into her eyes as she smiled softly, before he kissed her on the lips, as Talia pulled his jeans and boxers down and he helped by pulling them off his legs.

Moving her panties out of the way he looked at her glistening pussy and aimed himself at her moist and eager love canal. With a single stroke he sheathed himself inside of her, and she gave a loud moan. Her mouth set into an O, as she wrapped her legs around him and held him close, her hands roaming his perfect muscular back.

Nate moaned before he began to thrust into his beloved/teacher repeatedly, earning loud continuous moaning from her. As he continued to plow into her, the two held each others gaze.

"Harder!" Talia moaned, and Nate was simply happy to oblige, powering his strokes, causing Talia to give gave a moan like grunt when Nate hit her cervix, as the bed began to rock as Nate began to go faster and harder, making her body quiver in pleasure.

With grunts, Nate continued to hit the al Ghul's cervix, as her hot mature pussy began tightening around him and the comfortable heat she was emitting on his mighty sword.

Nate sped up his approach, adding even more power to his movements, wanting to show how much he loved and appreciated Talia.

Talia couldn't even scream out the pleasure she was feeling, as Nate had actually entered her womb causing her to yell out in sheer euphoria as her body began to quiver "I'M CUMMING!" Talia yelled, her eyes rolling back into her head as Nate continued to thrust into her, not stopping when she came all over Nate's monster cock.

The blond super soldier gave an animalistic growl, as he went full Mirakuru and began to suck on her neck.

Talia gave groaning moan, as her beloved continue fucking her with his true size.

Nate began to grunt as he began to truly pound into Talia, who was enjoying it to the fullest, even though she was unable to catch her breath. After close to three full hours of nonstop fucking and managing to get her beloved to cum inside of her once, Talia was a hairs breadth from unconsciousness. She was very experienced but even she had limits.

During the time since they began, they had changed from missionary, to doggy style, to cowgirl, to downward dog, to squat thruster, to reverse cowgirl, and after getting her to cum in those positions Nate was now on his knees on the bed as Talia was suspended in midair as he held her legs and she had her arms wrapped around her beloved's neck.

Talia's body was glistening in sweat, as she held him tightly while screaming into his shoulder before Nate craned his neck over until his face in the crook of her neck.

"Grah! Urgh!" Nate grunted before he gave one final powerful stroke, and released his pent up lust and seed into her awaiting womb. Talia could feel her belly fill with his thick, hot spunk.

After he stopped cumming, Nate smiled before he lay back on the bed and Talia lay at his side and he held her tight and close to his body.

"I love you, Talia. I'm really glad you're here." Nate whispered as Talia gave a soft smile as she snuggled a bit into Nate's chest, enjoying her beloved embrace.

"As I love you, Beloved." Talia said, as Nate pulled the covers over them, allowing the two lovers drifted into blissful sleep.

 **Chapter End**

 **REJOICE! Felicity is dead and can't harm the main character with her Black and White views, selfishness, naiveté, and hypocrisy.  
**

 **AN:**

 **1: According to Google Translate, means "** **Golden Haired King** **" in chinese.  
**

 **2: According to Google Translate, means "** **White Haired Queen** **" in chinese.  
**

 **3: Same goggles that Winter Soldier wears in the Winter Soldier movie. Also, they are bulletproof.**

 **4: Talia is played by Lexa Doig, same actress that plays Talia in Season 5 of** _ **The Arrow.**_

 **Next Time: Dodger can't dodge this!**


	14. Chapter 14 - Dodger Can't Dodge This!

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Sara Lance(Obviously, eventually), Lyla(Will join soon),**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Kara Danvers, Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Earth 2 Laurel Lance**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Carrie Cutter(After Some therapy), Evelyn Sharp, McKenna Hall, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor, Dinah Drake, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller(maybe, I don't know), Earth 1 Laurel Lance(Not sure at the moment)**

 **No way in hell: Moira, Thea**

 **So, I gotta be honest, I'm flip-flopping back and forth on several things. 1** **st** **is Laurel. Given the direction that I'm going with Nathan's backstory, I might not put him and Earth 1 Laurel together. That being said, I instead have him end up with Earth 2 Laurel.**

 **2** **nd** **thing is Tommy. Okay, I'm really not sure on this one. Should I let him die, or should he survive somehow, which would also mean him and E-1 Laurel stay together? Look, if I did have him survive, he would have to be written off the show somehow. Let me know what you think.**

 **Chapter 14: Dodger can't dodge this**

 **Starling City Museum of Antiquities**

 **1 Week Later**

A guard walked nervously into one of the numerous viewing galleries, his tie pulled down slightly and uniform shirt's collar unbuttoned. He moved towards the display in the center that held the massive Sherwood Ruby. In behind him walked his fellow guard Max, who looked at his colleague in concern.

"Jerry." He said, trying to get the man's attention. "Jerry, you ok?"

"Yeah." He replied distractedly.

"You look a little peaked, man." Max noted.

"I'm fine. It's, uh… Mrs. Hill wants us to move the Sherwood into the vault." Jerry stammered out.

"Now? It's mid-day." Max argued.

"I know. She says it's a security threat. It's, uh, all the robberies lately." Jerry replied nervously.

"Right, right." Max replied with a chuckle. Both men reached under the base and placed their index fingers on two hidden fingerprint scanners. Registering that both men were authorized, the base began to lower, exposing the massive gem. Max leaned in for a closer look-

And Jerry wacked him on the back of the head with his baton.

Hesitantly, he reached in and grabbed the ruby, which immediately set off alarms. A few moments later, he was walking as fast as he could down the hall, directing other guards and responding police back towards the room as he fiddled with his collar. He moved off into a side hall where a well-dressed man was leaning against a column. "Take this thing off me, all right?" he demanded, moving his collar aside to reveal the explosive device attached to his neck.

The man smirked in response, so Jerry reached into his coat and withdrew the ruby. "I got it like you asked. Here!" he handed it over to the man. "Take it off me!"

The man calmly reached into his own pocket and withdrew a small remote. A couple of clicks later the bomb collar disarmed and unlocked. Jerry quickly removed the device. "Were… were you… were you bluffing? I mean, would the thing have detonated?" he asked in disbelief.

"Violently." Dodger replied blandly. "Don't worry, though. You did exactly as I asked, so it's just unconsciousness for you."

"Unconscious?" Jerry said in confusion. An instant later, Dodger tapped the end of his stun wand to Jerry's chest, and the guard collapsed, unconscious.

 **Foundry**

Nathan and Talia, in a sports bra and yoga pants, were sparring fiercely with each other, expertly blocking and dodging each other's attacks, while Lyla was researching information about possible targets on the computer, and Helena watched them. Chien was busy with the Triad. Talia had decided to stick around for a bit, which he really needed, plus she would help him finish the Helena's and Lyla's basic League of Assassin's training. Their spar continued for 5 minutes before Talia managed to pin him to the ground.

"You're technique has improved tremendously in the last year, beloved. But you still have some room for improvement." Talia whispered sultrily in his ear.

"Maybe you can show me later," He whispered huskily in her ear before giving her a quick kiss, "Unfortunately, I have a little business to take care off tonight."

"So, which one are you going after this time?" Lyla asked.

"Ken Williams." Nathan replied "His pyramid scheme stole millions. People didn't just lose their homes. Their lives are ruined." Nathan walked to his work table and picked up his bow. "You guys can sit tight this time. I'm not expecting any trouble." He said, walking away to quickly get changed.

"Hey wait up. I'll come with you." Helena said.

"No, it's okay. Besides, you and Lyla have training with Talia." Nathan said, leaving to take care of Ken Williams. Helena shrugged and got on the mat. Over the past week, the three women had hit it off with Talia. She was pleasant enough to get along with, once you accepted the fact that Talia was basically Head Female of Nathan's harem. While Talia didn't go out of her way to monopolize her time with Nathan or boss her and Chien around, she made it in no way uncertain that she was Head Female. Then again, it was a position she had earned, as Talia had not only been with him first, she had been with him and helped through what was arguably his lowest points during his 5 years away.

Also, Helena, Talia, and Chien had a foursome with Nathan 2 days ago, that lasted nearly 10 hours. It was incredibly hot, and loosened Helena up about the whole idea. She saw the women in Nate's harem more as sisters than she did as rival's for his heart being forced to share. It certainly made things so much easier to live with.

Lyla, on the other hand, was thinking to herself. She wasn't jealous of the members of Nathan's harem, but it was odd and kind of a downer to feel left out, being the only member of his team that wasn't in a relationship with him or anybody for that matter. She hadn't been in a relationship with anyone since she and Johnny divorced, due to their marriage not surviving the transition to civilian life. She was lonely and it did not help that she had already had sex with him before so she knew how good he was. She put these thought out of her head and got back to work.

 **Flashback**

 _Slade way laying in the fuselage, wracked with a fever and coughing up a storm. Nathan walked up to him and knelt down, handing him a cup of water._

 _"Hey, hey." He called to the man to get his attention. "Drink."_

 _Slade did so, then immediately spat it out. "That tastes like dirt." He complained between coughs._

 _"What did you expect, Red Wine? You've got to stay hydrated, ok?" Nathan said._

 _"Hydration is not my problem." Slade argued. "My problem is getting a bullet dug out of my arm with a dull blade."_

 _"Let me take a look." Nathan said. Gingerly, he pulled back the bandage on his arm and grimaced._

 _Slade groaned. "It's infected. Go figure."_

 _"Yeah, uh I got to stop that before it spreads." Nathan declared. He stood up and started gathering some equipment._

 _"When you swing past the drugstore for those antibiotics, you want to get me a copy of 'Maxim', or maybe a 'Sports Illustrated'?" Slade gasped sarcastically._

 _"Yao Fei had these super herbs back in the cave that'd heal anything." Nathan told the man. "I'm going to go get them."_

 _"You're not going to last an hour out there." Slade said bluntly._

 _"Well, I guess you better hope I get back in 45 minutes, then." Nathan replied glibly as he walked out of the fuselage._

 **Flashback End**

 _ **Queen Manor**_

The doorbell rang and Moira herself opened the door. On the other side stood Frank Chen, a businessman and old friend of hers and Roberts. "Thank you for coming." Moira said, hugging the man. "Ahh. It is so good to see you, Frank. It's been far too long."

"Yes." Frank said as Moira took his arm and began leading him to the sitting room. "My interests in China have kept me away more than I'd like. But with The Undertaking approaching, I thought a return to Starling City was in order."

"Hmm." Moira said thoughtfully. "Actually Frank, it's The Undertaking that I wanted to talk to you about. I want to get out." She declared. Frank looked at her in surprise.

"Is this because of what happened to Walter?" he asked.

Moira sighed. "With Walter, with Robert. Last week the Vigilante nearly made my children orphans. I've reached my limit, Frank."

"That's, uh, a lot to confide in me, Moira." Frank said cautiously, making his way to the sofa.

"Robert did." Moira replied. "I know he reached out to you; whether I was supposed to know it or not. He had misgivings. He sought you out because he knew you did, too."

"But then he was murdered." Frank said bluntly. "And that should be a cautionary tale for both of us."

"Yes, I know." Moira said. "And I've gone along with this for as long as I can stomach it. We started this to fix the Glades, Frank." She argued. "To cure the city, not lay it to waste. You got into this because of what happened to your daughter. Frank… what would Amanda want you to do?" she asked. Frank looked indecisive for a few moments, and then looked back at Moira, giving her a subtle nod.

 **Foundry**

 **Later**

Nathaniel, Talia, Chien, Helena, and Lyla were standing around his computer system after a long sparring session. Their attention was taken a moment later by the news playing on said computer. McKenna Hall was talking at a press conference about the Dodger case _. 'At this time, we'd like to remind the public that we are coordinating our efforts with Interpol as the Dodger operates primarily in Europe, and they have advised us to warn the public that he is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous.'_

"You know, I heard about this guy." Lyla said. "He's called the Dodger because he never gets his hands dirty. He prefers to coerce hostages into doing his stealing for him."

"How?" Nathan asked, curious.

"Puts a bomb collar around their necks." Helena replied. "Last year, my father hired him to steal some important artifact in Madrid. The man he used didn't steal what the Dodger told him to, and it took his head off. Literally."

"And now he's in Starling City." Chien said. "It's too bad his name's not in your notebook, babe." She teased.

"Not all the people that I target are on the list." Nathan said, sensing an opportunity. "Every once in a while, I make an exception. Like deviant hacktivist's or a hostage-taking jewel thief, for example. I'm gonna take him down."

He pulled up his chair, and started researching, "Let's get to work."

 _ **Small art gallery**_

 _ **Downtown**_

A short, portly man with a gray beard paced around while his security guards looked on, impassively.

"He's late." The man growled. From behind him, footsteps could be heard and a moment later Dodger walked into the room.

"Never." He told the man in his cultured voice. Dodger walked up to a table and laid his briefcase down upon it. He opened it to reveal the Sherwood Ruby.

"I maintain a Swiss account for financial transactions." Dodger said calmly, handing him a card. "Here's the number."

"Thanks. I'll wire you the money. Assuming I don't misplace the numbers." The dealer said sarcastically, tossing the card over his shoulder. "My bookkeeping method is a little sloppy."

"Really?" Dodger said in dark amusement. The dealer's three bodyguards moved in, all pointing their guns at his head. "Clearly you're under the impression that you can have the Sherwood Ruby for a steal."

"Well, you're new here in town." The dealer said cockily. "We're not as refined in Starling City."

"I am getting that impression." Dodger replied with a smile. Then his left hand snapped out, grasping the first man's gun and forcing it up. At the same time he pulled out his stun wand with his right hand and shocked the two men on either side of him, then shocked the man in front of him. The confrontation lasted less than three seconds. Dodger cleared his throat. "Don't worry. Your men are merely unconscious." He told the dealer, pointing the gun at his head. "In about 17 minutes, they'll wake up with the ability to tell every other fence in this town that I'm not a man not to be trifled with."

"What about me?" the dealer stammered.

Dodger gave him a look. "Umm…" he pulled the trigger, putting a bullet into the other man's head. The dealer collapsed to the ground, dead. "What about you, indeed." Dodger finished sarcastically.

 **Later**

 **Big Belly Burger**

Nathan, Talia, Lyla, Chien, and Helena were seated in a booth, going over the plan.

"So to catch this guy, we need to either figure out where he is, or where he's going to be." Nathan declared.

"Is this really how you guys figure out how to get your target?" Talia asked in bemusement. "Over processed meat in buns, overly greased fries and shakes that may not actually contain milk?"

"Only some of the time." Nathan said. He pulled up a paper. "So, we know the guys real name is Winnick Norton, and we know his calling card is a bomb collar hostage. His taste in targets is odd, to say the least."

"I take it you already know his taste for stealing", Lyla asked.

"We know the Dodger has a taste for a very specific type of antiquity." Nathan said. "Everything he steals, including the Sherwood Ruby, they're all from the Ominous decade. The last ten years of King Ferdinand's reign."

Helena scoffed. "And here I thought we had no lives." Lyla gave her an exasperated look.

"Are there any other places that sell or display items from the Ominous Decade?" Nathan asked.

"Not really. The entitled rich of Starling City prefer the Elizabethan era." Chien mentioned said.

Nathan was looking at the newspaper and saw something. "The Starling City Cancer Society. It says right there they're holding a fundraising auction in two nights. We could lure him out into the open." He continued, thinking as he spoke.

"With what? A fake? Someone with his refined taste would never fall for that," Talia asked.

Nathan shook his head. "No. The Dodger clearly has a trained eye for this sort of thing. He's not going to fall for anything less than the genuine article."

Chien chuckled. "Where are you going to get your hands on a rare Spanish artifact?" she asked.

Lyla looked at her. "You really have no idea how rich he is, do you?" he asked. She looked at Nathan, who just shrugged.

"Still, this is just a backup plan. The Dodger will most likely be looking to unload the Sherwood Ruby." Talia mentioned.

"Which means he'll be in the market for a fence." Helena noted.

"So we find the fence and we find the Dodger." Nathan declared before adding, "Which will save me the trouble of having to waste 15 million dollars." The women chuckled at that.

 **The Glades**

Thea and Laurel were at a street vendor getting some lunch.

"Mmm." Thea said after taking a bight of her hot dog. "Who knew street meat could taste so good?"

"I had a feeling you needed a break from the office." Laurel replied after she paid. The two started walking back towards the office. "Hank was my first client. I kept his son from being sent away for a mugging that he didn't commit." She confided.

"And how did that not score you free hot dogs for life?" Thea asked.

"CNRI gives low income people access to the legal system. Without them, his son could have gone to prison forever."

"I could have gone to prison, too." Thea argued weakly.

Laurel chuckled. "He couldn't afford a dream team of super lawyers."

"So I'm supposed to feel guilty because I'm lucky enough to have a rich family?" Thea asked defensively.

"No. You are lucky." Laurel said. "And hopefully CNRI will show you that."

Thea opened her mouth to respond when suddenly her purse was snatched from her hand. "Hey!" she yelled as the young man in a red hoodie took off at a full sprint.

Laurel took off right behind him, with Thea following close behind. The thug barely missed a car, and then turned down an alley that was blocked by a high fence. He stopped in annoyance, and then turned to see Laurel and Thea standing not four feet away.

"Give us the purse, and we won't press any charges." Laurel offered. The thug smirked, then ran up the wall, grasped the top of the fence and jumped over it. He landed on his feet facing the two stupefied women, and then bolted.

Thea scoffed. "Yeah, you're right." She said, trying to catch her breath. "I really do feel lucky."

Laurel walked up to the fence and pulled a long chain loose. "This got snagged as he bolted over the fence." She noted, tossing it to Thea. "Looks like a chain from his wallet."

 **SCPD**

McKenna Hall was going through some files on her desk when she looked up at a knock on her cubicle. She smiled to see Nathan Queen standing there. "I thought you gave up crime fighting." She said with a chuckle.

That startled Nathan. "What?"

"Well, the business with your sister." Hall explained, and Nathan instantly relaxed. "I figured you'd stay out of police precincts."

This time Nathan chuckled. "Yeah, I saw you on the news and I realized that I never thanked you for everything that you did, so..." He smiled. "Thank you." He looked around her cube. "So you got promoted." He noted.

Hall nodded with a smile. "Major Crimes." She told him.

"Wow."

"And they assigned me to the Dodger case. He extorts people into stealing for him." She explained.

Nathan nodded. "How's that going?" he asked casually.

"Slow." Hall admitted. She gestured for him to stay put for a minute, and walked away to quickly file some papers in the file cabinet.

Nathan watched her walk off, and then looked down on her desk. He already had every phone infected with his algorithm, so no need to bug her phone. A moment later Hall walked back over.

"Well… it was nice seeing you the last time that I saw you." He started.

Hall smiled. "Yeah. It's good seeing you, too. It was like old times. Except the PG version." She added.

Nathan smiled. "How do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, you and I always knew how to have a fun time in our junior year of highschool. Something that's been missing from my life lately." She noted sourly.

Nathan smiled. "Well, hey, I'd love to stay and chat, but I'm meeting another friend in an hour and kinda need to get going. But uh, lets grab a drink sometime. You know, catch up."

"I'd like that." McKenna said.

"Awesome. I'm looking forward to it." Nathan said as he left.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan walked into the cave, pausing a moment to look at his former 'home'. Then he moved over to Yao Fei's supplies, rummaging around for a moment before finding the small leather pouch that contained the herbs. He put them in his vest and was about to leave when the sounds of someone coughing caught his attention. "Who's there?! " he called out, whirling around to face the cave's opening and turned on his flashlight to see a young man, his bearded face swollen and bloodied, his hands bound behind him staggering in._

 _"Help me." The man said weakly as he leaned against the cave wall._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Queen Manor**

Thea was on the phone with a shop she had been looking into on line, trying to find a lead on the guy who stole her purse.

"Anyway, I saw online that you sell a chain wallet with an eight ball on the chain." She was saying. "I was wondering if you could give me a name of one of your customers if I gave you a description? Yeah, sure, you can call be back." She sighed, annoyed. She looked up and gave Nathan a tired smile as he walked into the office. "Like every other used clothing and leather goods store I've called today." She finished, hanging up.

Nathan looked at her curiously. "What was that about?"

"What's up with the fancy-fancy?" Thea asked, ignoring his question.

"What?" Nathan looked down at his suit. "Oh, um, I'm meeting up with an old girlfriend. Contrary to popular opinion, I do have a life."

"Then why do you seem so nervous?" she asked.

"Is it obvious?"

"Just be your charming and brooding self." She said with a wry smile. "I mean, the girls seem to dig that."

Nathan sighed. "This girl is different. She knew me before the island, before I was-" he was cut off by Thea's phone ringing. She looked down and saw it was one of the stores she had called earlier and snatched it up.

"That's CNRI." She lied. "I've got to take this. I'm working on a very important purse snatching case."

"You have fun with that." Nathan said. Taking the hint though, he turned and walked out of the office as she took the call.

"Hello?" Thea said, ignoring her brother's exit completely. "Yes, I called you this morning. Yeah, he might have been wearing a red hoodie. Kind of Abercrombie-looking. His face, not the hoodie." She clarified. "Really? You wouldn't happen to have his name?" she asked excitedly. She wrote down the name. "Thank you so much." She gushed, and then hung up. Quickly scrolling through her phone, she found Laurel's number and dialed. "Hey, Laurel. Does your dad still like arrest people?" she listened for a moment, and then smiled. "I found the dirt bag. His name is Roy Harper."

 **Table Salt**

Nathan's dinner with Kara was going well as the two were sharing a chocolate soufflé at Table Salt. She was back in town for Cat Grant, who wanted another interview from him. Apparently, Kara was becoming the go-to reporter for Cat Grant when it concerned him.

"Mmm." She moaned in pleasure. "No, no, no, no, it is not possible for something to taste this good!"

Nathan smiled. "Right?" he agreed.

"Ohh! So you must have missed soufflés." Kara said absently.

Nathan frowned slightly in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Five years on an island, away from civilization." She said, and his smile slipped further. "Ah, what did you do? What did you eat? Where'd you-"she rambled before she caught herself, "And I am so sorry, I am being totally insensitive here."

"It's ok." Nathan lied.

"No it isn't, Nate. I should know better than to ask you about what you went through on that island. It had to have been difficult for you." Kara said apologetically.

Nathan thought back to being shot with an arrow right after burying his father and the beating given to him by Wintergreen.

"Yeah." Nathan thought back to the bound man staggering into Yao Fei's cave. "Difficult is an understatement." Nate said and his smile was replaced with melancholy look, "It was hell on earth. Every day was a struggle to survive."

Kara reached out to him and held his hand in hers, "Nathan, we're friends. When you're to talk about what happened, I'll be here."

Nathan squeezed her hand, his melancholy expression changing to a happier one, along with a small smile adorning his face. "Thanks, Kara. I promise, that when I'm ready to tell the world what I went through, you'll be the first to know." They both smiled before he pulled his out of hers.

"Although, we weren't that close when we weren't dating. I was kind of a dick back then." Nathan joked.

"You weren't to me," Kara said before she thought about something for second and said, "And I was kinda the cause of that. After all, I did break your nose on our first kiss."

"Yeah I remember. We were inching closer and just about to kiss, when you pushed too hard and hit my nose. It was bent, broken, and bleeding, but I just laughed it off, and gave you a big ol' smooch." Nathan raised his glass of wine and said, "Best first kiss ever."

 **Flashback**

 _Nate stood in front of the beaten man, who had fallen to his knees._

 _"Who are you?" he demanded._

 _"My name is Alan Durand. I'm an exchange student. I was on a fishing excursion with my class. We got lost and our boat caught fire. It was some mechanic malfunction. We had to jump ship." He stammered out._

 _"When?"_

 _"Two days ago." Adam replied, crying. "It was awful. I thought I was going to die."_

 _"Where are the other students? Where's the boats crew, huh?" Nathan demanded, not sure if he believed him or not._

 _"I think I'm the only one who made it." Adam said. "I managed to get to shore. I thought I was lucky, but…"_

 _"What? Somebody found you?" Nathan said. "Soldiers, or-"_

 _"Yes! Yes." Adam sobbed. They had these masks on and they attacked me and beat me. They left me here! Who are they?!" he sobbed harder. He looked up at Nathan with his one good eye. "You can untie me at any point, by the way." Nathan just stared at the man, unsure._

 **Flashback End**

 **Fence Meeting**

The Dodger walked in with his newest fence, Tori.

"Nice place you have here." He remarked glibly.

"Oh, thank you." Tori replied dryly.

The Dodger noted the six security guards and sighed. "Tell me. Does every fence in this town hire muscle?"

Tori chuckled. "I did as soon as I heard about what you did to Cass Derenick."

"Oh, yes, Cass. God rest his soul." Dodger said sarcastically. "He wasn't a very nice man. He tried to steal from me."

"Oh." Tori said, the story now making more sense.

"I've heard that you have a better sense of judgment." He set his case down on a table and opened it to reveal the Sherwood Ruby. "And that you have no trouble in moving this."

"Well, it's only a recession for some people." She said with a smile. She pulled the jewel out and examined it with a jeweler's eye. "I take a 15% commission off the top." She noted.

"Let's call it at 12, shall we?" Dodger said disdainfully. "Obviously I don't have to remind you about what happened to the last person who tried to screw me over."

The sounds of running feet grabbed their attention, and both looked up to see a swarm of cops moving through the warehouse, their guns drawn.

"SCPD!" McKenna Hall shouted. "Grab the floor!"

Bedlam broke out as the guards opened fire on the cops, who quickly returned fire. Tori threw the Ruby back in the case, but the bullets whizzing around her head made her leave it and bolt for the exit. The Dodger likewise chose discretion of valor, jumping over the hood of a car and managing to avoid a stream of bullets. He spied an exit door and made a break for it. Tori was not so lucky, as she got broadsided by McKenna and thrown to the floor. Hall was quickly on her back, wrenching her arms behind her.

The Dodger slammed through the exit door and ran as fast as he could down the alley, only to come to a sudden stop as an arrow whizzed by his head and planted itself into the dumpster in front of him. Slowly he turned around and looked up to see The Arrow standing on the roof behind him.

 **"Come quietly!"** The Arrow growled.

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline." The Dodger shouted back.

 **"Then you won't be going to jail."** The Arrow snarled, letting loose another arrow, The Dodger dodged it and ducked behind the dumpster. As The Arrow made his way down to the street, Dodger pulled out his collar bomb and activated it. The Arrow jumped down to the street and readied his bow, and the Dodger threw the bomb towards the vigilante. It landed and latched itself on his arm. Nathan used his super strength to rip the bomb collar off and throw it above his head. The explosion blew The Arrow off of his feet, giving the Dodger an opening. And by the time Nathan looked up- he was gone.

 **SCPD**

 **Later**

Quentin Lance entered the interrogation room and flipped open the folder he was holding.

"Roy William Harper Jr." he began reading as he walked around the young man in the red hoodie. "Where's senior?"

"Norris cemetery." Roy said coldly.

Lance sat down across from him. "Sorry to hear that." He said. Behind him was a two way mirror, and on the other side stood Thea and Laurel, who wanted to observe the man who stole her purse.

"You and an army of bookies." Roy replied. "Can I go?"

"No. You've been ID'ed as a suspect in a purse snatching." He looked though the file- Roy's rap sheet. "It's quite a résumé you've compiled here. Petty theft, B&E, robbery, petty theft. Stolen car." He looked up. "Well, it's nice to change things up once in a while." He glanced back down. "And petty theft. You got something against banks?" he asked Roy sarcastically.

"Well, it is hard to run with one under your arm." Roy replied, equally sarcastic.

"Well, maybe you'll learn a few new skills in prison." Lance said blithely.

"Look, I don't want to steal, ok?" Roy started, emotion barely contained in his voice. "I don't have any other choice."

"Sure." Roy said sarcastically.

Lance scoffed.

"My mother, she… she has a problem." He continued.

"Yeah, her son's a moron." Lance said dryly.

"No." Roy argued harshly. "Vertigo. She got hooked on Vertigo last year. She kicked it, but I guess she'd done enough that it messed her up."

"Hmm." Lance hummed noncommittally.

"She hasn't been the same, and her medical bills… look, I'm…I'm just trying to help her get out from under." He said emotionally. "Look, we're not privileged enough to have as much as other people. Ok?" he pleaded.

One the other side of the glass, Thea was trying to reign in her own emotions. Roy's story had hit her especially close to home. "Fine." She said finally. "Let him go. It's just a damn purse, right?" with that, she turned and walked past Laurel out of the viewing room.

 **Queen Manor**

Frank Chen was meeting with Moira. He handed her a note.

"They'll meet with you." Frank told her. "It has been arranged."

"Thank you for this." Moira told her friend. "There's one more thing I need you to do for me. Malcolm's the only one who knows where Walter's being kept. I just…I just need a clue." She pleaded. "Some lead to follow. If our plan works, I can't let it damn Walter to hell."

Frank looked to her sadly. "No." he said. "That's the fate that's in store for us, I'm afraid."

 **Downtown Hilton**

 **Later**

Nathan had come through and donated a rare jewel encrusted brooch from the Ominous Decade. Nathan, in a suit, walked through the crowd, looking around. As he paused, Lyla walked up next to him.

"The police are here, too." she told Nathan. "Your bait's attracted them, at least."

"That's not exactly who I'm looking to catch." He looked around, and stopped suddenly as he saw a new person enter the room. She was tall, glass-wearing blonde, and showing a lot of leg in a very short form-fitting gold lace dress- and it took Nathan a moment to realize that it was Kara. He realized she was really beautiful when she wasn't trying to hide or downplay said beauty.

She smiled at the pair as they walked up to her. "Hey, Nate." He smiled and gave her a hug, "Kara, what a surprise! I mean, I'm happy to see you here, but what are you doing here?"

"This is actually part of my interview. Plus, showing up gives me an excuse to spend a little more time with you." Kara said happily.

"Oh, where are my manners, I haven't you two. Kara, this Lyla Michaels, my bodyguard. Lyla, this is Kara Danver's, reporter extraordinaire for CatCo, as well my first girlfriend."

They greeted each other, before Lyla motioned for her boss to follow her while Kara moved off.

"So what is your first girlfriend from highschool doing here?' Lyla asked offhandedly.

"I'm not surprised ARGUS know that. Anyway, she is here because Cat Grant needs somebody to interview me, and she apparently wants Kara to do it, since we have good history together."

Over at the case containing the Queen brooch, the Dodger calmly walked up, slid open the glass top, and grabbed it. He took a moment to slide the glass closed, then walked briskly towards the exit.

Kara had noticed the brooch was gone and spent several seconds looking around until she spotted it in the hands of the thief. Heedless of the danger, she walked up behind him. "Hey!" she said, gaining his attention. "That broach was donated by the Queen family. If you want it so badly, you're going to have to bid." She said boldly.

He looked at her disdainfully. "Actually, love, I thought I'd just take it."

Lyla and Nathan were both still circulating, looking for the thief. They came together briefly.

"Maybe I should check out front, see if the security guards had any problems." Dig suggested.

"That's a good idea." Nathan said. "I'm going to go check on the bait." They both turned to leave- then froze in horror as Kara walked up to them with a bomb collar on her neck.

"I think I have a problem."

He took her to a small, empty room off on the second floor above the main gallery. Kara backed away from the two, running into a table as she did so. "Get away from me!" she exclaimed. "If this thing blows…"

"Not going to happen." Nathan told her with a confidence.

"The Dodger said if I called the police, he'd-" she couldn't finish, playing along because she really did not want to reveal her powers. Nate looked around for some kind of tool to use, but all he saw was a glass full of pens. He knocked it over and grabbed a pen, giving it to Lyla. She then pulled the small metal clip off of it. She used that to open a small access panel on the front of the bomb, exposing the circuitry.

"Can you disarm it?" Nate asked cause disarming bomb this complex wasn't up his alley. Lyla shook her head. Nathan then pulled away and made a show of calling the police, but really he made a clone to go after the Dodger, which unbeknownst to him, Kara saw through the walls with her X-Ray vision, shocking her.

 **With the Dodger**

The dodger was getting away going under an overpass, when out of nowhere as he exited the overpass, Nate's clone dropped down and crushed the front of the car, causing the Dodger to fly out the window and roll to the ground.

Nathan's Clone hopped off the wrecked car and approach the dodger, who slowly got to his feet.

"Hey! Don't do anything stupid." The Dodger warned, pulling out the remote control for the bomb. "I had the foresight to collar up a particularly inquisitive blonde. I assume she's a friend of yours." He smiled cruelly at Nathan's Clone , who stared back through the heavily tinted visor on the goggles. "Touch one hair on my head and she loses hers. You've got quite the choice to make, don't you?"

Nathan's Clone shook his head. **"Not really."** Quickly, he withdrew two kunai and flicked them hard. They buried into both of the thief's arms, just below the elbow.

The Dodger stared down in shock, and not a little bit of pain. **"Both of your median nerve's have been severed."** Nathan's Clone said as he calmly walked up and pulled the remote from his frozen hand. **"You couldn't push that button if you tried."**

 **Back in the room**

 **A few minutes earlier**

Kara thought long and hard before she came to a decision. She didn't initially want to reveal her powers to her ex, like she had when they were teenagers, but the revelation that he had powers of his own, sent that restraint out the window. "Nate," Kara said, getting his attention as he was immediately by her side, "There's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time. Something that I've been wanting to tell you since our first kiss."

Kara grabbed the collar and looked like she was going to rip it off. "Kara, don't! It'll-" He tried to say, but he was interrupted when she ripped it off her neck and froze the circuitry with her icy breath, rending the bomb collar useless.

"Kara?" Nate asked in astonishment as he always known something different about her. Lyla was stunned in silence as well.

"I'm a kryptonian." She said as she floated a few feet off the ground, literally dropping a bombshell on both of the two occupants of the room.

 **Overpass**

Back on the street, the Dodger stared at the vigilante in disbelief. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. "I'm exactly like you. I only steal from the rich."

Nathan's Clone plunged his hand into the Dodger's chest, breaking through the sternum effortlessly. Grasping the man heart, he ripped it out. The thief dropped the ground, dead. Nathan's Clone let the heart fall out of his hand, splattering on the ground.

 **"I'm not fucking Robin Hood."** He said, then moved off.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan was still staring at the bound man uncertainly._

 _"I don't know when these men are coming back!" Adam sobbed. "You have to believe me. Untie me, please!" Nathan said nothing and did nothing, just stood there staring stoically. "What, do you think these men; they planted me here, some kind of trap or something?"_

 _"I…" Nathan started hesitantly. "Well, why'd they tie you up like that and then just leave you? Huh? Why not just kill you?"_

 _"They were going to!" Adam cried. "They got called away at some-some altercation somewhere else on the island. If they come back, they will kill both of us. Please! You have to believe me. Please." Adam pleaded tearfully._

 _Nathan was torn. He wanted to believe… "All right, turn- all right, turn around." He said finally, gesturing with his knife._

 _"Thank you." Adam sobbed as he turned around slowly. "Thank you."_

 _Slowly, Nathan approached. He bent over and placed the edge of the blade on the leather wrappings that bound Adam's hands…_

 _But then he stopped. What if this guy was a spy? If he freed him, he'd be leading Fryers right back to Slade, and Slade needed these herbs to cure his infection. And his story was a bit too familiar. Ordinary guy? Lone survivor? Scared? Tortured by the people already here? That was almost exactly like his own story. Plus, Fryers men wouldn't have just left him here to rot. They would have put a bullet in his head. For both Slade's sake and his own, he couldn't afford to take the slim chance that this guy was who he said he was._

 _Resting the knife on the guys binds, Nathan hardened himself. He leaned over and whispered in Alan's ear. "Well Mr. Alan," Nate whispered before he covered Alan's mouth with one hand and slit his throat with the other, "You must think I'm a fucking idiot."_

 _Nate tossed the body far away from where the super herbs were growing and exited the cave, sneaking back to the plane._

 **The Glades**

 **Roy's House**

Thea walked up to an old, run down house deep in The Glades. She knocked on the door, glancing around nervously as a dog barked in the background. After a moment, Roy Harper opened the door, saw who it was, and immediately closed the door. Thea rolled her eyes.

"How did you know where I live?" Roy asked through the door.

"A little thing called the Internet." Thea replied dryly. "Look, could we not do this with a door between us?"

Reluctantly, Roy opened the door. He stared at her, and then he leaned out the door, looking for cops- or anyone else with her. "So I guess you're not pressing charges 'cause you feel like… you feel like you can change my life?" he asked sarcastically. "And so you can run and tell your rich prep school friends what a Saint you are and how you're helping the disadvantaged?

Thea scoffed. "You don't know a thing about me."

Roy stared at her confidently. "Thea Queen." He began. "Trust fund brat. Totaled her car, which she got as a birthday present. Loves designer labels and is usually in the tabloids for partying too much." He smirked. "Did I…did I leave anything out?"

Thea crossed her arms. "Yeah. Dead father, missing step dad, damaged brother, and almost served jail time for that car accident. Plus, she really wants her purse back." She finished, silently daring him to say something else.

"You know, you showed some real sack coming down here, the Glades in the middle of the night." Roy noted.

"You must not know the value of a vintage purse." Thea said with a smirk.

This time Roy scoffed. He closed the door and moved back inside the house, then returned a moment later with the purse, which he handed over to her. Thea gratefully grabbed it and rooted through it, checking its contents.

"Don't worry, it's all there." Roy told her, and then pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket. "Except for these."

"Ahh." Thea nodded.

"You know, it's a really filthy habit you got there." Roy noted.

"Yeah, tell me about it." She replied dryly.

"Hey, can I give you some advice?" he asked. Thea nodded. "First, stay out of the Glades."

"And second?"

"Don't fall for every sob story a guy like me tells the police." Thea's eyes widened fractionally as she realized that she had been played. Roy smirked. "You have a great evening now." He told her, stepping back inside and closing the door. Thea just shook her head, swung the purse onto her shoulder and left.

 **Starling City Park**

Nate and Kara were walking side by side, talking about what had happened earlier. "So let me make sure I got this straight. You areSupermans older cousin by 13 years, who was a baby when your homeworld exploded. On the way to Earth, your pod got knocked off course, and through some Phantom Zone mishap, you landed on earth 20 years later. You then proceeded to hide your powers for the last 12 years. Did I miss anything?" Nate asked.

"No, that more or less sums it up." Kara said as she sighed, "Nathan, I never wanted to hide this from you. Out of everyone that I have ever met, you were the one person I wanted to tell outside of my family."

"So what stopped you?" He asked, his tone displaying a sense of understanding and acceptance.

"Because I had spent two years before we dated as a relatively normal girl. I had come to like being normal and I didn't want to ruin that by telling you about my powers." Kara said.

"The thing is Kara, I kind of already knew." He said, shocking Kara.

"How?" She asked.

"Seventh Grade, I watched you leap over 100 feet to a burning car and then saw you, a 13 year old girl, rip a car door off it's hinges. The other time was when you broke my nose during our first kiss. My nose was literally broken into ten pieces. I was amazed I still had a nose." He joked.

Kara giggled a little as well before saying "I am sorry about that."

"Don't be. Like I said before, it was worth it." He said, before he added, "You don't need to worry about me telling anybody. I've kept your secret all this time, and I will keep it still."

They continued to walk in silence for a moment before Nathan said, "Since we're letting secrets out. I think I should tell you mine, but not here. It's too open."

 **20 minutes later**

 **Verdant Construction site**

Nate and Kara walked into the construction, which was stopped at the moment since it was still nighttime. "This is Verdant, or at least it will be when it's finished. It will also serve as my alibi." Nathan said as he walked over to a door and punched in the code.

"What do you need an alibi for?" Kara asked as the door opened and Nathan motioned for her to enter first like a gentleman, "You'll see in a minute." She walked down the stairs only to see a bunch of alcohol and chairs down on this level. "Now this level serves as the storage for our merchandise and club stuff."

Nate walked over to the end of the room, opposite of where the stairs were, and placed his hand on the wall. The wall parted ways to show another set of stairs **(Think the same way the Time Vault does in _Flash_ )**.

The level was dark as no-one was home and Nathan went to flip the lights on. "I only ask, that you don't judge me too harshly." He flipped the lights on and the whole room shined with bright light. **(Lair is now like Season 2 version of Lair).** Kara looked around at the computer, advanced workout equipment, and her eyes stopped on the mannequin that held his suit.

She looked at him in horror. "You're the one killing all those people."

"No," Nathan said, "I'm not killing innocent people. I'm protecting them from monsters in human flesh."

"You made someone overdose on Vertigo!" She accused.

"That bastard created a drug that nearly landed my sister in jail! He was going to infect the entire city with it!"

"You skinned an old man alive!"

"That old man infected the people of Lamb Valley with tuberculosis and jacked up the price of the drug meant to fight it, all so he could make a profit."

"You murdered an IT worker!" She yelled speeding him over to the wall and holding him there.

"That IT worker you mentioned created a virus that threatened national security and the stability to the civilized world!" He yelled as he threw Kara off of him and to the ground, his strength surprising her.

"Kara, you live in National City, where the sun shines all the time, there is no organized crime, and the only thing you have to worry about is a plane crash. I live in a city infested with the disease of greed and corruption on all levels. I hate to say it, but you don't live in the REAL WORLD!"

"Do you think that I wanted this for myself!? Believe me, I wish that I didn't have to protect this city, but I have to because no one else will!"

"You don't have to kill people to protect them!" Kara tried to deny.

"People like Batman and Superman will always fail because they are not willing to go all the way! They think that killing makes them as bad as the people they kill. News flash, that's not how it works! Do you think the Joker and Scarecrow could destroy more peoples lives if they were dead!? Do you think Lex Luthor could have continued to trample upon the weak for years if Superman had killed him the first time!?" Nathan shouted before he calmed down and sat in his chair.

"Look, I learned something very important in my time on the island. There are those who only deal in extremes. It is naïve-Nay, the pinnacle of insanity, to believe anything less than extreme measures will deal with them. People like Joker and Scarecrow can't be reasoned with, they can't be changed. I mean, Joker's former psychiatrist is now his evil sidekick, and he's escaped from Arkham, what? 10 times so far?" He asked rhetorically.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Kara finally spoke up with teary eyes, "What happened to you on that island?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" Nathan asked to which Kara nodded her head.

Nathan slowly took his shirt off and showed her his scars, which caused her to cover her mouth and gasp in horror. "My first year, I had three mentors. Yao Fei, Shado, and Slade Wilson. One died saving my life, another I fell in love with, and the other become my friend. I had to accept reality for what it was, and to survive, I had to change from the naïve, selfish, playboy, into a killer. It was the only way to survive." He said as remembered all the people he killed his first year.

"My second year on the island," Nathan said as Kara approached him to really get a look at the scars, " I found and lost my best friend, I lost the woman I loved to a sociopathic madman, I was injected with an experimental WW2 super soldier serum that still courses through my veins, my other best friend/brother/ mentor Slade betrayed me, and I was forced to kill him."

"My third year, I wasn't on the island. I had to work for a secret government organization to stop a biological weapon from being unleashed. I worked alongside this couple and came to befriend them as well as their little boy, Akio. But then he got infected and died. I tortured the bastard who did it, and for the first time, I really saw what a monster I had become. And it terrified me."

"The first half of my fourth year, I was back on Lian Yu for Argus, taking down a Slam operation by a rogue Army unit, which was a cover for finding magical artifacts. I fell in love with a fellow captive and together, we took down Baron Reiter, but she became corrupted by the dark magic of the totem he had acquired, and I killed her after she begged me to. The second half of my 4th year, I was in Russia. I was lost and I found a purpose in helping Anatoli, an old friend from the island, by protecting his life and helping him become leader of the Bratva. I took down this bastard named Konstantin Kovar and slaughtered his entire organization, but I had been injected with copious amounts of Red Death, that even though my healing factor healed the physical damage, it left me mentally broken. So broken that I hate myself and I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror anymore."

"And then?" Kara asked, as she placed her hand on his chest.

"Talia, a woman I met in Russia, brought me to a man in the mountains of Tibet, named Henri Ducard. Together, they trained me, and helped me regain my sense of identity. They helped me make peace what I had become. I found my path to justice and how to replace evil with death. And that is what I exist to do. I spent a couple months in the Triad before returning to lian yu, and made my way back here."

Kara was silent before she said to him with tears running down her eyes, "If only I had found you first." She muttered.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"When I heard about the boat, I searched for you in the North China Sea. For three weeks. My cousin had pull me away. If only I had found you then, none of this would have happened to you."

Nathan hugged her and held her close as she sobbed into his shoulder.

 **Flashback**

 _Slade was drinking a tea with the herbs Nathan had gotten._

 _"Ahh. It tastes like an ashtray." He complained, though his voice was stronger. He put the cup down. "But it does the job. I owe you one." He told Nathan. He noticed how the younger man's far off look. "You didn't get into any trouble out there, did you?" he asked worriedly._

 _Nathan looked at Slade and said "No," He said pulled out his bloodstained K-Bar Knife, with Slade nodding in understanding, "No problem at all."_

 **Flashback end**

 _ **Starling City**_

A deserted road under the train tracks was where the meeting Frank Chen had set up as taking place. Moira Queen stood confidently, taking in the sight of the person in front of her.

"Frank Chan recommended you." She began. "He said you could help us with our problem. He appreciates you agreeing to meet with me."

Chien Na Wei smiled. "Anything for a friend. So how can we be of assistance, Mrs. Queen?"

"Malcolm Merlyn." Moira began. "I want you to kill him for me."

 **Starling City Airport**

Nathan was seeing Kara off.

"Hey, are you okay?" Nate asked as she prepared to leave Starling City.

She sighed and said, "No, I'm not. Nate, I don't really agree with how you kill people," then her tone changed to a more understanding one, "But I do understand you are not a hero. You're a protector. And you have to do whatever you need to in order to protect your home."

"Don't lose your light Kara. It sucks being consumed with darkness. It's not something I would wish for anyone." He said and they shared one final hug.

"Look though, if you ever did decide to the normal life doesn't suit you, you don't have to be like me. You be a hero like your cousin, a symbol of hope. You could inspire people in a way I never will, Supergirl."

"Thanks," she said as she made to board her plane, "but you probably should pick a better name than Arrow. Why not something more like _Black Arrow?"_

Nathan shrugged and said, "Maybe one day." She boarded her plane and Nathan couldn't keep the genuinely happy grin off his face.

 **Chapter End**


	15. Chapter 15 - The Truth Hurts

**Chapter 15- The Truth Hurts**

 **Starling City Heliport**

A helicopter was landing on a pad at the Starling City Heliport.

Less than five minutes away, a phalanx of police cruisers sped towards the heliport, while McKenna Hall talked angrily into her phone in one of the speeding cars.

"What do you mean the chopper's about to touch down? The flight log doesn't have them due for another 20 minutes!" she said furiously. She listened to the reply and growled. "Then lock down the heliport!"

At the pad, a well-dressed man climbed out of the chopper. He took his phone out and quickly dialed his contact. "I've just landed in Starling City." He said in heavily accented English.

"We agreed- half on arrival, the other half when the job is done." He looked down at his phone, and his banking app showed a wire transfer in progress. As it finished, he lifted the phone back up to his ear. "Gracias." He said with a smile. "Don't worry. The man's as good as—"

His conversation was cut short as the phone was knocked out of his hand by an arrow. He looked over in disbelief at the Arrow, who stood just a few feet away.

 **"Guillermo Barrera. You have failed this city."** The Arrow growled.

"You've built quite a reputation in this city, Arrow." Barrera said.

 **"And you should have stayed overseas in Europe."** The vigilante said.

"I thought about it," Barrera replied with a thoughtful expression, "but then I remembered- I've got a reputation, too."

Two throwing knives slipped into his hands from his sleeves. The Arrow shot another arrow, which Barrera blocked with the knives, which he then threw the knives at the Arrow, who sidestepped to dodge.

Barrera swung at Nate's head, intent on stabbing him, who ducked under the attack, and used his other arm to parry Barrera's other stab strike. Nathan then delivered a hard jab to Barrera's face, breaking his nose and causing him to stumble underneath the tail of the helicopter, and the Arrow followed him.

They continued to fight furiously as the Arrow parried away all of Barrera's attacks. Barrera was getting frustrated and kicked the Arrow in the leg, causing him to kneel. Barrera pulled out two more knives and tried to stab the rising vigilante, who parried away both strikes, before pulling out his sword and pivot spinning on his foot, and slicing Barrera's neck wide open.

" **So much for that reputation."** Nate sarcastically quipped. He grabbed the dead man's phone as he walked off, heedless of the cops who pulled up, surrounding the pad. And by the time McKenna had gotten out and found the remains of an arrow near Barrera's body, he was gone.

 **Foundry**

 **A few minutes Later**

The sound of shouts, grunts, and the clash of wooden swords could be heard as Lyla and Helena were sparring with Talia with wooden swords. Having finished their league hand-to-hand training, they moved onto to swordsmanship, though since they were new to swords, they were starting off with wooden Bokken.

Talia blocked a few strikes from Helena before Talia swept Helena off of her feet with the bokken, causing her causing her to fall and land on her butt. Talia parried several of Lyla's strikes before disarming her and holding both swords at her neck.

"You have a decent foundation, Lyla, but your moves are too rigid. With swordplay, your movements need to flow naturally, similar to how a river flows. Let it happen naturally, don't force it." Talia handed Lyla her sword back before turning to Helena. "Helena, your foundation is lacking. Let the power of your attack come not from the strength of your arms but from the ground that holds your feet." Talia extended a hand and Helena took it, pulling herself.

"It's harder than I thought. You make it look easy." Helena mildly complained.

"Some swordsmen have a certain natural talent. However, most have to spend countless hours of training and dedication to become masterful swordsmen. It will take some time before you attain that skill level." Talia complimented.

"Was it hard for Nathan to learn?" Lyla asked.

"Our beloved already had prior training in several different styles before I started with him, so he already had a solid foundation to work with." Talia's mouth formed into a mischievous smirk, "But just between us girls, the two of you are learning the League's way faster than he did." They shared a laugh.

"Haha, very funny, Talia." Nate's voice could be heard, but they could tell he was amused, not upset. They looked up to see Nathan walk in, spinning his bow. "How'd it go?" Lyla asked.

"Badly for him." Nathan replied, setting his bow on another table.

"Who was it you went after tonight?" Helena asked, mildly curious.

"An assassin for hire with an affinity for knives. His name was Guillermo Barrera." He said as he crossed the man's name off of the list.

"So we can't ask him about his intended target?" Lyla noted.

Nathan took a breath. "No." he said, turning to face the two. He pulled Barrera's phone from his pocket and placed on the desk "Which is why I need to hack his phone." He said as he quickly created a clone and had said clone get to work. "Barrera's a world class assassin. He only kills high profile targets. And whatever job he was hired for isn't finished. We need to figure out who he was here to kill, and fast. They are probably still in danger."

While his clone got to work on hacking the phone, the real Nathan sat in another chair, pulling out a spare laptop and once it turned on, began looking through some documents. Lyla and Helena, curious as to what he was looking at, peeked over his shoulder. The two ladies saw an article-' _Rebecca Merlyn: Brutally Murdered in a Glades Alley'._ "Is that your friend Tommy's mother?" Helena asked for confirmation.

"Yeah," Nathan said wistfully, remembering her sweet demeanor and angelic smile, "When Ollie, Tommy, and I were young, we'd sometimes have play over at Tommy's home. Back when Mrs. Merlyn was still alive, Malcolm was a pretty great guy. He once performed a few magic tricks on my 7th birthday. I used to call him 'Uncle' and Rebecca 'Aunt' because before her death, they were the aunt and uncle I never had. But then Rebecca was murdered on May 5th 1993, and Malcolm went away for two years, leaving Tommy alone, and when he came back, he was a cold son of a bitch." Nathan had his back turned to Talia, so he didn't see her eyes widen in realization, then narrow.

"I've been looking into her murder on the side since I got back, because it's one of the biggest unsolved cases in SCPD history and because it's personal to me." Nathan said as he pulled up some more files and looked at them. "The murder weapon was a .45 caliber bullet shot from a M1911 pistol. This was the detail of her murder that stuck out, because there have been at least 14 other murders afterwards, the bullets having the exact same grooves from the barrel, which means it's the exact same gun. After I cross-referenced numerous sources and purchase records about who might own the gun, I finally managed to link it to this guy."

Another document is pulled up, "Daniel "Danny" Brickwell. He's a notorious mobster in who operates in the Glades. His grandfather was Loyd Brickwell, a member of the Us Army during WW2, who kept his service pistol and handed it down to his son Richard, who handed it down to Daniel. He started rising through prominence in the criminal underworld rather quickly after Rebecca's death. Either Daniel is so arrogant that he thought nobody would ever make the connection, or he's just really stupid. Either way, his name's on the list and I'm gonna kill him."

"May I suggest you hold off on that, Beloved?" Talia requested, getting her Beloved's attention.

"Why?" He asked, noticing her slightly uneasy expression. Most wouldn't be able to tell with Talia, but given how long he has known her, he could tell, "Talia, what is it?"

Talia sighed and walked over to his display board, which had articles and evidence of all the sightings concerning the rogue Leaguer he was looking for. "When you mentioned when Mr. Merlyn disappeared, it reminded of something my father mentioned. He was very tightlipped about Al-sah Her's original name, but he did tell me he served as my father's Horseman and joined the League for 2 years before he was released in 1995, near the summer. When you said the Malcolm Merlyn vanished in 1993 and reappeared in 1995, it finally made sense. What if you've been looking at this all wrong?" Talia said as she drew two small parallel timelines.

"What if it's not a rogue member of the League? What if it was a former Horseman that was released? My point is, what if Merlyn is the one you've been looking for the whole time?"

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Nathan was in the fuselage was doing a set of pullups. He finished his set and dropped to the ground._

 _Slade looked at him from across the downed plane, unimpressed. "Seven." He tallied._

 _"Well, it's better than the 4 I was getting last week." Nathan complained._

 _Slade just gave him a look, then walked over to the bar, jumped up, and started doing pull-ups with his legs extended out straight in front of him. Nathan sighed. "Why the sudden desire to work out?" he asked._

 _"What else is there to do?" Slade countered, still doing pull-ups._

 _"Well, we can try to think of another way off the island." Nathan offered._

 _"There is no other way." Slade said, still doing pull-ups. "If there was, I would have found it."_

 _"We can't just sit here and wait for Fyers to come and kill us." Nathan complained hotly._

 _Slade finally dropped down from the bar. "I did have one idea." He said. "If you go into the forest and gather as much bamboo as you can find…"_

 _"Yeah?" Nathan asked hopefully._

 _"We could build ourselves a boat, like they did on 'Gilligan's Island'." Slade finished sarcastically._

 _Nathan shook his head. Then out the corner of his eye, he noticed something- a radio. Interested, he moved over to examine it. "That's broken." Slade advised. "It got busted during the crash."_

 _"Did you try to get it to work?" Nathan asked._

 _"I'm better at pulling things apart." The soldier replied._

 _Nathan moved to the back of the radio and began examining the wires. "My father was a pilot and he used to do his own maintenance." He said._

 _"So you're hoping aircraft maintenance is genetic?" Slade said incredulously._

 _"No," Nathan replied, annoyed. "I used to help him and I liked it. Then I got pretty good at it. So maybe I can make the radio work."_

 _"You should be training for the inevitable fight that's looming." Slade argued, going back to the pull-up bar and resuming his workout._

 _"I'll do that and see if I can't get this radio to work." He replied, getting to work._

 **Flashback end**

 **The Starling Cemetery**

 **Next morning**

Nathan was walking to one of the graves with a bouquet of flowers. He stopped at a grave. It read ' _Rebecca Merlyn'._ The next line read _'Loving Mother and Treasured Wife'._ The final line read _'April 4_ _th_ _, 1963 – May 5_ _th_ _,1993'._

"Hey, Aunt Rebecca," He said to himself as he placed the flowers at the base of her grave. He had a sad smile on his face, "I know it's been awhile since I visited last. I was away, kinda got lost along the way, but I'm back."

"I went through a lot of crap during my five years away. Honestly, the things I've done, and what I still have to do would have horrified you. You were always so innocent and pure," Nathan laughed a little to himself as he continued sadly, "If there was ever one person in my young life who I thought was an angel, it was definitely you."

His sad expression hardened as he stared at the grave, "I'm gonna have do something I really don't want to do. So, I'm gonna make you a promise right now. I won't go after Malcolm, not until I know for certain he is either this Dark Archer, or the one behind whatever this Undertaking is."

 **Laurel's Apartment**

 **7 Pm that Evening**

Helena was leaning against the wall in her purple dress, putting on her shoe when Nathan walked up.

"Hey." He said with a smile. "Sorry I'm late."

"No, I am." Helena replied. "I just got caught up at the office managing my bastard Father's company."

"I have a similar problem." Nathan quipped, looking her over. "Mm. You look so hot in that dress." He kissed her.

"Ooh." She said as they broke apart. "We should go inside."

"We should." He agreed, kissing her again and pulling her closer.

"We don't seem to be going inside." Helena quipped as they kissed again. Finally, they broke apart and headed to Laurel's apartment. Nathan knocked, and Tommy opened the door.

"Welcome." Tommy said happily.

"Happy Birthday, buddy." Nathan replied, giving his best friend a hug.

"Thank you." He replied, taking the gift bag Nathan handed him. "Oh, this feels like a Chateauneuf de Pape."

"It tastes like one, too." Nathan replied, closing the door as Tommy led Helena into the apartment.

"You are a true friend. Thank you."

"Tommy, you remember Helena Bertinelli." He introduced.

Tommy smiled. "That's right, we met during the Christmas party." He noted.

"And so we meet again." She joked. They chuckled as they moved into the dining room, where Laurel was lighting the candles at the table.

"Nate." She said happily." HI."

"Hey, Laurel." He replied. The two ex-lovers hugged each other non-awkwardly. "Laurel, this is Helena Bertinelli, my girlfriend."

"We know each other from the court house. I helped her file the lawsuit to get control of her fathers company" She said, moving back to Tommy's side.

"How are you, counselor?" Helena joked, easing the tension.

"I'm well, mobster." She replied glibly.

"I'm going to go crack this open." Tommy said, hefting the wind bottle.

"Come in." Laurel invited. Helena moved deeper into the apartment, taking it in.

"This a very nice apartment." She complimented. She noticed a picture and picked it up to examine it. The picture showed a young, brown-haired girl with a younger-looking Quentin as they happily observed a black canary in a cage. "Oh, this is so cute. How old are you here?" she asked.

Laurel looked at the picture with a tinge of sadness. "That's actually my sister Sara." She said.

Helena was slightly embarrassed. "Oh, I am so sorry." She apologized.

"No, no, it's ok." Laurel assured the woman, and then looked back at the picture. "I don't know why my father bought her that canary. That thing chirped night and day." She laughed lightly. "Drove us all nuts."

"A toast." Tommy said as he came back into the room, loaded down with wine glasses. He passed them out, and then held up his own. "To the first birthday that I have enjoyed in a long time." He looked at Nathan. "I got one of my best friends back." He turned to Laurel. "And I have finally figured out why poets have been in business for the last few thousand years."

"Happy Birthday, baby." Laurel said, giving him a kiss.

"Thank you." He replied with a smile.

"Cheers." Nathan said. They all replied the same and clinked glasses. As they were sipping their wine, there was a knock on the door.

"I think that's the food." Laurel said, handing Tommy her glass and going to the door.

After she left the room, Nathan sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God you didn't let her cook."

"Amen, brother." Tommy agreed.

Laurel opened the door to find not the food delivery, but Malcolm Merlyn. "Mr. Merlyn." She said in surprise after a moment.

"Laurel." He greeted with a smile. "Can I come in?" Laurel moved aside, allowing the elder Merlyn in. Malcolm walked towards the small group with a smile that no one else returned. "Nathan." He greeted.

"Mr. Merlyn." Nathan replied politely. Their once chummy relationship had taken a severe nosedive after Merlyn came back and acted like a cold hearted ass.

Malcolm turned to Tommy. "I've been trying to get in touch with you."

"What are you doing here, Dad?" he asked without preamble.

Malcolm produced a small box. "Happy Birthday, Tommy."

Tommy just stared at him for a moment, and then turned to Laurel. "Just give us a second."

"Of course." Laurel replied. Tommy motioned for his father to follow him out into the hall. Malcolm tossed the present to Nathan and obligingly followed.

"We're about to eat." Tommy said as soon as they were in the hall.

"I can't stay."

"Well, that works out because you weren't invited."

Malcolm smiled tightly, then withdrew and invitation from his jacket. "I'm being honored by the Starling City Municipal Group. They're bestowing me with their annual Humanitarian Award."

"What, they ran out of actual humans to give it to?" Tommy asked sarcastically.

"I would like you to be there, if you could." He asked hopefully.

"I am 100% certain that I'll be busy." Tommy tried to walk back into the apartment, but Malcolm grasped his arm tightly, stopping him cold. Tommy looked down at his father's hand, than back up.

"You might not believe this, but all I ever wanted for you was happiness." Malcolm told his son. "If it will allay this tension between us, I'll turn the switch back on." He tried.

"Save your money, Dad." Tommy replied. "I don't need it anymore."

"I'd still like you to come to the event." He pressed the invitation into Tommy's hand. "It would mean a lot to me." He started to walk off, but his son's voice stopped him cold.

"You know what, Dad?" Malcolm smirked and turned around, and Tommy walked up to him. "Sometimes the people that you want there the most- Aren't" he pressed the invitation to his father's jacket over his heart. "You taught me that. Multiple times." Tommy turned and walked back into the apartment. Malcolm stood there for a moment, watching as the invitation fluttered to the floor, then turned and walked off.

 **SCPD Police Station**

 **While the party was happening**

McKenna was at her desk, going over files concerning the Arrow, trying to figure out how to catch him. She was pulled from her thoughts when the lights went out. Seeing as she was the only one still in the office, she pulled out her gun. "Who's there?" She called out, not showing any fear.

" **I am",** the modulated voice said. McKenna whirled around to see it was the Arrow, though his bow was holstered.

McKenna went for her radio to call backup, but all she got was static. " **Please allay any thoughts towards calling for backup. I've already jammed all radio signals coming out of this building."**

"What the hell do you want?" She demanded, her gun still trained on him.

" **I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you."** The Arrow said, tossing a stuffed folder onto her desk. She eyed it warily. " **It's not a bomb, if that's what you are wondering."**

She carefully pulled the tab open to see a bunch of files and papers in it, as well as a black phone, " **Rebecca Merlyn was murdered nearly two decades ago. The Police never found out who did it. I did. Inside there, you'll find everything you need to arrest him. Though I should warn you, bring a few SWAT teams when you go to apprehend him."**

Nathan turned to leave when McKenna wondered out loud, "Why are you giving this to me? You could easily go after him yourself."

Nate turned to her and said, " **Rebecca Merlyn left a strong impression on me a as child. Her killer needs to be brought to justice. And to answer your question, while I could easily kill him and move on to the next scumbag, her son and husband have been in a strained relationship ever since her death. This isn't about just making sure he can't tear another family apart, this is about getting them the closure they need. Don't do it for me. Do it for the families that this bastard has ruined."**

 **Bludhaven Apartments**

 **Exact Same time**

A tall, lanky man lumbered up to the door of his apartment and walked in. He got a glass down, through a carton of cigarettes down on his table, then pulled out a bottle of bourbon and poured himself a drink.

"Hello, Lawton." A voice said from down the hall. "I see your edge has dulled."

"Oh, I knew you were there." Deadshot said, "I just didn't care if you killed me. What do you want?"

"My organization has been contracted to eliminate a certain high profile individual." China White said, coming into the light. "A very well-guarded target."

"Well, forget it." Lawton said. "Look, I'm retired."

"To drink and smoke your life away?"

Lawton shrugged. "We all got to die some time."

"I need someone to die at the right time." China White said. "And no one does it better than you."

Lawton moved himself into the light, highlighting his milky, dead left eye. "My vision ain't exactly what it used to be."

"No." China white lifted a small case and opened it, showing its contents to Lawton. "It's going to be better."

Floyd lifted the small, red eye device and looked it over with his one good eye. He smiled at the Triad leader. "So? Who needs two bullets in the chest?"

 _ **Merlyn Global**_

 _ **Next morning**_

Moira was hurriedly walking towards the conference room for a meeting with Tempest.

"Moira." Frank Chen called out, joining her. "Is it happening?"

"Yes." Moira confirmed. "The Humanitarian Award ceremony."

"Isn't that a little public?" Frank asked, concerned.

"No one will expect it." Moira said, then schooled her features and opened the doors to the conference room. She and Frank took their seats, joining the other two members at the table. Malcolm stood at the windows, looking out over his city.

"I have very welcome news to share with all of you." Malcolm said as he came to the head of the table. "Thanks to Queen Consolidated's Applied Sciences Division and their recent acquisition of Unidac Industries, the Undertaking which we set for ourselves is only months from fruition." He smiled. "There's hope on the horizon for everyone in Starling. We won't fail this city."

"And I think I speak for everyone here when I say we're all with you, Malcolm." Moira lied pleasantly.

 _ **The**_ _ **Lair**_

 _ **Same time**_

Nate was hard at work on Barrera's phone, with Lyla, Helena and Talia hovering around him.

"This guy was one paranoid assassin." Nathan complained. "Barrera's got cobalt-level encryption on his phone. The only thing I've managed to pull off this thing is the last number he dialed." he said, pulling up the info.

"Which was?" Helena asked.

"A restaurant in China town. Jade Dragon…Which would explain why Chien hasn't been returning my calls or showing up lately. She's involved in all of this and didn't want me involved." Nathan said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

" Yeah, Jade Dragon is a front for the Triad." Lyla told her.

"I'm gonna call the restaurant; make a reservation for two for lunch." Nathan said as he left.

"I'm kind of in the mood for Chinese now." Helena noted.

"Hmm." Lyla agreed.

 **Jade Dragon**

 **Lunchtime next day**

Nathan and Tommy were seated at a table, joking quietly when the waiter came by and dropped off their meal- a whole fried fish on one large plate. The waiter smiled and left, leaving Tommy and Nathan to stare at the plate.

"That is…that is one big fried fish." Tommy said, and the two laughed quietly.

"I wasn't lying when I told you this was the most authentic Szechwan in town." Nathan told his friend. He shook his head. "I wanted to make sure that your birthday celebration got its due celebration. It was a bit tense last night."

"Well, trust my dad to run all the smiles out of the room." Tommy sighed, his mood darkening.

"I know the two of you have never been close, but it couldn't have been easy for him after your mom was killed."

"Yeah, I guess he forgot that there were two of us in that club." Tommy pointed out.

"I'm not trying to defend him, Tommy." Nathan sighed, showing a bit of sadness. "It's… with everything I've been through, people that I've lost, I know the kind of wound it leaves on you."

Tommy nodded pensively. "You probably don't remember this." He started. "Ahh… we were eight. But after her funeral, he left for like two years. And when he did come back, he was… he was so frickin' cold. We barely spoke. And that's why I spent so much time at your house with you and Oliver." Nathan nodded in understanding. "From the outside, it always looked like I had a father. He paid my bills, he lived in the house, and he bailed me out whenever I got into a rough patch. But your dad took me to my first hockey game." Tommy smiled. "Your dad taught me how to fly and fish. Your dad took us to our first R-rated movie."

"But he wasn't perfect, man." Nathan said, remembering the list. "My dad made a lot of mistakes. And…" he took a breath. "We haven't talked about this. But I have a bit of resentment towards him. But still, I would give anything to have him back, because… at the end of the day, your dad is… your dad. And nothing can ever change that."

Tommy sniffed, trying to keep his emotions in check. "I meant what I said last night, okay?" He told him. "I'm really glad that you're back."

Nathan smiled, and Tommy picked up his chopsticks to dig into the fish. Nathan was about to, but then he saw a large, burly Asian man with a tattoo on his neck walk past. "I got to hit the restroom real quick. I'll be back in a sec." He told his friend.

The big man moved through kitchen to a back room where a smaller Asian man was counting the Triad's money. The big man pulled stacks of cash out of an envelope and handed it to the accountant, who was about to put it into an electronic cash counter when the light suddenly went out. They looked around, and the big man reached for a gun when suddenly Nathan leapt on top of him, slamming the man's head to the ground. Having taken the threat out of the equation, Nathan grasped a squeeze bottle of hot sauce and sprayed it into the accountant's eyes, effectively blinding him. The small man leapt up and tried to run out of the room, but Nathan was on top of him. He slammed him into the wall and held him there by his throat.

 _"The triad put a hit out on someone."_ Nathan growled in Mandarin. _"I want to know who."_

 _"I don't work for the triad!"_ The accountant protested in Mandarin.

 _"You're not exactly making Dim sum back here."_ Nathan quipped in Mandarin, then tightened his grip on the mans neck.

 _"I-I don't know who it is."_

 _"But you do know something."_ Nathan surmised. _"Tell me or I will break your neck."_

 _"Tomorrow. Whatever it is, it's supposed to happen tomorrow."_ The man finally said.

Satisfied, Nathan let go and quickly slipped out of the room, just as the big man got back up.

 _"Who was it?"_ The Big man asked

 _"_ _I don't know. But whoever he was, he spoke with a perfect accent. Definitely Chinese."_ The accountant said, trying to rub that hot sauce out of his eyes.

The big man ran out of the room and headed back into the dining room, looking for the guilty party. All the while Nathan sat at his table, and as the big man walked past.

"Mm," He muttered as he and Tommy dug into their meal, "That is some good fish."

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Nathan was diligently working on the radio when Slade came back into the plane, carrying al large boar on a pole over his back._

 _"I hope you like barbecue." He said. Nathan said nothing, not noticing Slade at all as he spliced wires together. "Well, don't fall over yourself thanking me for spending six hours up a tree so you can eat."_

 _"What?" Nathan asked distractedly, finally looking over at the other man. "Great." He said, turning back to the radio. "I'll eat later."_

 _"You've been on that for days. Give it a rest." Slade argued._

 _"It's because I can do this." Nathan shot back._

 _Slade scoffed. "Sure, kid. When pigs fly." Suddenly the lights on the radio lit up, and talking could begin to be heard. "You're kidding me." Slade tossed off the boar and ran over to Nathan. "Can you clean this up?" he asked excitedly._

 _"I don't know. I don't know how I got this far!" Nathan said happily._

 _'Continue approach. Big jet 365.' The radio squawked._

 _Slade picked up the mica and hit the button. "Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is wedgetail 325. Pilot and passenger down."_

 _'Big jet 365, cleared to land. Runway 2-7 right, wind,' the radio continued. Slade frowned in confusion, so he hit the button again._

 _"I repeat-pilot and passenger down on the island of Lian Yu. Request immediate rescue."_

 _'Cleared to land, runway 2-7 right. Big jet 365.' The radio continued, heedless of his calls._

 _Slade slammed the mic down in anger. "Damn! They can't hear us, and we can't call out." He sighed. "We're still trapped." Nathan stared at the radio, dejected and deep in thought._

 **Flashback End**

 **Triad base by the Docks**

 **Nighttime**

China White was giving her men a briefing on the assassination. "There are five exit routes from the main floor that need to be cut off." She began, circling around her men. "Once the fire alarm goes off, we'll have less than 30 seconds to disable Merlyn's private security and force him outside with the others. Once he's outside the rest will be up to Mr. Lawton." She looked over to the sharpshooter, dressed in his traditional gear with the new artificial eye over his dead one.

"Roger that." Lawton smirked.

Afterwards, Chien was walking over to her car when she was slammed against it but not too hard. "Mm, playing rough today, lover?" She asked as she turned around, knowing it was Nathan.

"I'm not in the mood for this, Chien. Who's the hit on?" Chien looked uneasy for a moment before she relented. "It's Malcolm Merlyn."

"What!? Who the hell hired you to kill Malcolm?" Nathan asked.

"It was your mother, Nate. She paid us 5 million dollars to kill him. I didn't come to you about this because I know your relationship with her is strained right now and I didn't want to be the cause of any more pain between you two." She said sincerely.

Nathan nodded in understanding and said, "Okay. This hit on Malcolm, it can't happen."

"I'll pay the Triad 10 million to let this go, you'll tell them Moira suddenly changed her mind and the hit isn't happening, though you'll act like it is. I have someone I can call to take care of Lawton. Think you can convince them?"

"Well, if it's that, I certainly can." Chien said but then pulled his face closer, "But make no mistake babe, I want you all to myself for a day."

"Consider it done." He said. They shared a quick steamy kiss, and she left. Nathan then pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. A number he originally intended to never call, ever.

Finally, a woman picked the phone, "Yes, Mr. President?"

"Ah, you think too highly of me, Amanda." He said, addressing Waller. He could hear a sharp intake of breath on the end of the phone.

"Mr. Queen," She said in surprise, calming herself down, "I wasn't expecting to hear from you ever again. How did you get this number?"

"Oh, come on, Amanda. You know how resourceful I am. I never expected to call you either but things are different. However, I'd like to discuss business. How would you like to get your hands on Floyd Lawton aka Deadshot? For your little Task Force X?"

"Reports say that you killed him." She noted, testing him.

"So did I, but apparently he survived. Anyway, you interested?" He asked.

"Consider my interest peaked. What did you have in mind?" Nathan smirked as he told her the plan.

 **The Next Day in the morning**

 **Unspecified location in the Glades**

A gang was hauled up in a warehouse, drinking and having a good time. Then the lights went out. They jumped to their feet, looking around as they pulled out their guns. They heard the sirens and then they knew they were fucked.

"Freeze! SCPD!" McKenna and about 20 SWAT members entered the building and all had their guns pointed at Brickwell and his three guys. The three gangbangers dropped their guns in surrender but Brick was pissed.

"You fuckin' cowards!" He shouted as he shot all three of them, but he didn't get another shot off as he was hit with seven tranquilizer darts. McKenna put the cuffs on him and carried him away.

 **Laurel's Apartment**

 **Late that night**

As evening started to fall, Tommy was finishing putting on his tuxedo when Laurel walked into their room.

"You look handsome!" she said.

"I try not to. It just keeps happening." Tommy replied glibly.

"What's the occasion?" she asked.

"I decided to go to my dad's thing."

Laurel was surprised. "Really? Are you sure?"

"Oh, mostly." Tommy replied, putting on his jacket.

"Did you want me to go with you?" Laurel asked. Tommy shook his head.

"No, no, no, I know you have work to do. I promise I will be fine." He gave her a quick kiss. Laurel watched him as he walked out. She was distracted by her phone ringing. Picking it up, she saw the incoming call was her mother.

She looked at the phone worriedly, then quickly ignored the call and slammed her phone down on the table.

 **Merlyn Global**

 **1 hour later**

Moira was mingling with the crowd when a familiar voice stopped her cold.

"You look beautiful."

Composing herself, Moira turned to see Malcolm standing there, resplendent in his tuxedo. "Thank you." She said politely.

"If you're free, maybe after the ceremony, we could have dinner and talk like we used to." He offered with a friendly smile.

Moira smiled in return. "I'd like that." She lied. There was a bit of feedback through the speakers, and Malcolm chuckled.

"That's my cue." He said, then walked towards the stage.

"I've been trying to avoid him all evening." Frank Chen said, coming up to Moira.

"If we didn't show, it'd look suspicious." Moira said reasonably. She picked up two flutes of champagne and passed one to Frank.

"How can you talk to him that way?" he asked. "As if nothing's about to happen?"

"I've been living this life for five years. Five more minutes won't matter." She clinked their glasses and took a sip.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." The speaker began, and the crowd quieted. "Now tonight's honoree needs very little introduction. It's neither his wealth nor his name that we celebrate here tonight. But it is his efforts in making Starling City a better and safer place to live. So please help me welcome Starling City's humanitarian of the year, Mr. Malcolm Merlyn." Applause broke out as a smiling Malcolm took the stage. He gratefully accepted the award and waved to the applauding crowd.

Through the crowd, China White strode confidently in her brunette wig, pausing to take a flute of champagne from a waiter- one of her men. She looked back to see another waiter—another of her gang members- moving about as well.

While this was happening, a young man with short slicked back brown hair and blue eyes walked in through the back. He was wearing a black baseball cap, black sunglasses, a dark grey longsleeved shirt, black jeans, brown belt and brown boots. He snuck closer to the control, avoiding all the camera's to make sure he wasn't seen. He found the control room and opened the door to find two guys monitoring security.

"Hey, you can't be i-" That was all the one guard got out before the young man reached out with his hand and wrapped it around the security guards throat before snapping his neck with a single hand.

"Ben!" The other security guard shouted as his friends was murderer right in front of him. He reached for his taser, but the murderer moved first, rushing the guard, placing both hands on the sides of his head and twisting violently to snap his neck.

As the guard fell dead, the guy in black pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into the servers in the room. Very quickly, a green LED light on the drive turned on, signally whatever he was downloading onto the server was done. He then got on the computer and quickly typed in a few keystrokes. Suddenly, 3 minutes of footage from the camera's that might have seen him were erased and replaced with looped feedback, showing no sign he was there. He then put 20 different camera's on looped feedback. He swiped the guards badges and keys and locked the door, sealing the security footage room.

He found the elevator, used their keys, and went up to the penthouse. He found the door to the penthouse and held out his watch covered wrist. The watch opened and out popped a holographic keyboard. He quickly began typing away. A second later, the light on the keypad to the room turned on and the door opened. Walking around, he planted numerous tiny video and audio surveillance devices, sticking them in places where Malcolm would never find or think to look.

He then saw the room, with another keypad. He walked over to it and hacked into the holo-keypad. He watched as the door opened to reveal the customized League of Assassin's suit. "Boss won't be happy about this." The guy said as he took several pictures and placed a few more recording devices where they wouldn't be seen. He stuck his flash drive into the USB slot on Malcolm's computer and after a few seconds, the algorithm was downloaded onto the laptop. He then exited the penthouse and began making his way out of the building, disposing of the dead guards along the way.

At the benefit, Malcolm began his speech. "The true humanitarian in the Merlyn family was my wife Rebecca." He said. "Many of you here knew her. She tirelessly devoted herself to helping those less fortunate in the Glades. I like to think that if the men who murdered her knew her; knew the work that she did, knew the person that she was. He would have helped her to her car, made sure she was safe, instead of stealing her purse and shooting her." He paused in his speech when he saw Tommy out in the audience. He gave him a small smile, then continued. "The truth is, I haven't done enough for this city. My city. I failed it. But I promise you- I am not finished yet."

Out in the crowd, Moira was listening to the speech when she spotted Tommy out of the corner of her eye. She looked at the young man, and her careful mask slipped as she realized that she was going to have his father murdered in front of his son.

"I promise you that this city will be better for all of us." Malcolm continued. "And on that day, I will look at this beautiful award and feel that I have earned it. I thank you."

The crowd began to applaud, and Malcolm made his way down to the crowd to begin shaking hands. He had just begun when the fire alarm suddenly went off. The speaker got back on the microphone and advised the crowed to head out in an orderly fashion. Malcolm looked around for his son and came up to him and they walked out together as Malcolm, surrounded by his security detail, had seen no assassin's.

Meanwhile, outside on the roof of the opposite skyscraper, Deadshot waited patiently for his target.

" **I'm surprised you're still alive."** Lawton whirled his gun around but saw nothing. **"I could have sworn I killed you."**

"I was able to patch myself up before I bled out from the wounds you gave me. The cops never even found me." Lawton replied looking around the rooftop for the guy that had almost killed him many months back.

" **Well, that's too bad,"** the voice came before an arrow pierced Lawton's shoulder, " **Lucky for you, there's someone who wants to get their hands on you more than I want to kill you."**

The taser device in the arrow activated, zapping Lawton into unconsciousness. 5 Argus agents came out the door moments later and scooped him up.

 **An Hour Later in Malcolm's Office**

"So, what can I do for you Detective?" Malcolm asked curtly as he stared coldly at Quentin, knowing of the detective's feelings about his son. The detective had approached him asking to speak privately after the incident at the ceremony.

"I'm here to talk to you about your wife's murder. There's been a new development." Quentin said carefully and Malcolm tensed.

"What development?" Malcolm snarled, which Quentin decided to overlook.

"There's a rising star in SCPD. McKenna Hall, she used to go to school with your son and Queen's boys. Well, she was looking over some old police reports when she found something. The gun used in your wife's murder is the same one used by Daniel Brickwell, a local gang lord. He's used the same gun for years." Quentin said and stopped, seeing the enraged look on Malcolm's face.

"Thank you Detective. Is there anything else?" Malcolm asked in a clipped voice.

"Yeah, earlier today, Brickwell was arrested by McKenna and 2 SWAT Teams. He's being transferred to Iron Heights in a few hours while court sets a trial date for him." Quentin admitted and Malcolm nodded.

"If I could have some time alone Detective." Malcolm said and Quentin nodded in understand.

"We'll be in touch if there are any new developments." Quentin promised before walking out.

Once Quentin had closed the door, Malcolm pressed a button on his phone, getting him in touch with his secretary.

"Janet, cancel all my meetings and hold all my calls for tomorrow. Tell anyone but my son who needs me I'm unavailable." Malcolm ordered.

Malcolm then stood up and walked over to his secret room. Malcolm opened the door and walked inside, closing the door behind him. Malcolm walked over to his suit, staring at it. He thought he had killed the man who murdered Rebecca all those years ago, but he was wrong. It was time to rectify that mistake. Daniel Brickwell would pay for what he had done, Malcolm thought as a wicked smile spread across his face.

 **A few hours later**

The cop van was transporting Brickwell to Iron Heights when two arrows pierced the windshield and driver and passenger were killed, causing the vehicle to crash into a nearby building. After a few seconds, the three cops in the back got out, only to fall one by one to arrows. Brickwell, who had lost his restraints in the crash, got out and made a run for it. He made it into an alleyway before he was shot with an arrow in the knee.

" **Daniel Brickwell,"** The man in black said as he appeared and took a step towards Brick, **"this is for Rebecca."**

"What?" Brick asked before the archer grabbed him by his throat, lifting him into the air as he took off his hood.

"You don't even know her name, do you?" Malcolm snarled enraged as he pulled out the gun he had stolen from SCPD. "IS this the weapon you used to murder my wife?"

"Everybody I dropped was with that piece." Brick said with a sick grin.

"She was a good person. Decent! Kind! She ran a clinic right in The Glades!" Malcolm snarled and Brick laughed.

"Brunette. Yeah, now I remember. She was my first. My initiation into the Orchid Bay Butchers." Brick bragged.

"You murdered her because you wanted into a gang?" Malcolm demanded.

"No, because she was weak. Because she was crying, begging me not to kill her. But you won't get that from me. So go on, do it! Kill me!" Brick snarled.

"You murdered my wife," Malcolm said as he pressed the barrel of the gun to Brick's temple, "and now, I'm gonna make sure you can't do what you did to me and my son to anyone else…ever again."

Outside the alley, the thundering sound of a gunshot pierced the air.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Nathan was sitting, dejected as Slade fiddled with the half-working radio._

 _"If they can't hear us, then what's the point?" he asked angrily._

 _Slade held up his hand, indicating he should be quiet. "Wait! You still might have done us some good." He told the boy as he scanned the frequencies. Finally he found what he was looking for._

 _'Final deployment is five by five.'_

 _"That's Fyers!" Nathan exclaimed, jumping to his feet and running over._

 _"I'm tuned into the soldier's frequency." Slade told Nathan as they continued to listen._

 _'Scylla is in route. ETA 0600 hours. At the southwest bay. I'll call you when Scylla is in my possession. Fyers out.'_

 _"Who was Fyers talking to?" Nathan wondered._

 _"I don't know." Slade admitted. "Sounds like someone off this island, maybe his benefactor. More importantly, who or what is Scylla?"_

 _"The Scylla and Charibdis." Nathan explained. "It's 'The Odyssey', from one of the four nightmare chapters. Scylla was a multiple headed monster."_

 _Slade slid his swords into their scabbards on his back. "I want to meet this monster." He said. He walked to the door and stopped, looking back at Nathan, who grabbed his knife and followed._

 **Flashback End**

 **Nate's loft**

 **1 hour later**

Nathan was in his room, surfing the internet and having a glass of bourbon, when his cell rang. Seeing who it was, he answered, "So, I hope you like my present."

"I am most pleased to finally have Deadshot in my custody, Mr. Queen. If you ever need to relieve yourself of unnecessary burdens like Lawton ever again, just let me know." Amanda said promptly as she hung up.

He pocketed his phone when the same brown haired guy from Merlyn Global walked in. "Did you get them all implemented?"

"I did, boss." The guy said.

Nathan got up to look at the guy and the brown-haired man's forms shifted to an exact copy of Nathan's. "Good work, you are dismissed."

The clone then faded away in a red mist. Nathan walked over to his computer, placing his bourbon down, and began looking through images and videos of the past hour of Malcolm's office. He stopped playback when he saw the Dark Archer coming out of a room in his pent house. Frantically typing and going back farther, he switched to another angle to see Malcolm walking into the room with mannequin holding the League Armor and changing into it, causing Nate to snarl and throw his bourbon into a wall, the glass shattering on impact.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Slade and Nathan stealthily approached Fyers camp. They took position behind some fallen trees, and Slade looked at the camp through his binoculars. What he saw caused him to take a sharp breath._

 _"What?" Nathan asked, noting the other man's tension. "What is it?"_

 _"You were right." Slade breathed. "Scylla is a monster. A Russian-made S300 anti-aircraft missile launcher." He handed the binoculars to Nathan, who looked at the device. "It can simultaneously track up to a hundred targets while engaging with at least a dozen. I mean, from here, they could shoot down a commercial airliner, or start a war."_

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Merlyn Global  
Morning**

"And in other news, Local gang lord Daniel Brickwell, known better by his street name Brick, was found murdered on his way to Iron Heights, after being arrested for the murder of Rebecca Merlyn and 14 others. The cause of death has not yet been released, but it is known that arrows were at the crime scene. Whether this means the Arrow and the Huntress or the copycat from Christmas are suspects is not yet known." Malcolm watched the news at his office with a detached look on his face.

His phone rang. Without looking away from the news report, Malcolm pressed the button on it.

"Yes?" Malcolm said irritably.

"Mr. Merlyn, Mrs. Queen is here to see you." His receptionist said and Malcolm smiled a chilling smile.

"Send her in." Malcolm ordered.

A few minutes later, Malcolm was staring out his window, looking over the city as Moira walked in.

"How small the city looks from up here," Malcolm said as if to himself, "and how beautiful. You'd never know about all the corruption in the city from this glorious view."

"I heard about what happened from the news," Moira said as she shut the door behind her, "so, I assume you sent your enforcer to do your dirty work?"

"Did you expect anything less? This man killed my wife Moira." Malcolm asked coolly as he turned around to face him.

"And now that you've had your revenge, has this changed your plans at all with The Undertaking?" Moira asked, careful to keep the hopefulness out of her voice.

"Not in the slightest," Malcolm said immediately, "Daniel Brickwell is only a symptom, he is not the disease. There are dozens more just like him in The Glades right now, planning their next murder. The Glades can't be saved, because the people there don't want it to be saved. The Undertaking will proceed as planned. We will level it all down to the bedrock with the seismic generators once Unidac is done setting them up. Is that a problem Moira?"

"…No, not at all." Moira said with a blank face and tone, giving nothing away of the dread that filled her at the news.

 **Nathan's Loft**

 **Same Time**

" _Daniel Brickwell is only a symptom, he is not the disease. There are dozens more just like him in The Glades right now, planning their next murder. The Glades can't be saved, because the people there don't want it to be saved. The Undertaking will proceed as planned. We will level it all with the seismic generators once Unidac is done setting them up. Is that a problem Moira?"_

"… _No, not at all." Moira said._

Nathan shut off the live feed as he finished half a bottle of Jack Daniels, not that he could stay drunk for more than a few minutes, thanks to his damn healing factor.

He looked at The List of names that his father had given him. In the very back page was a single name. ' _Malcolm Merlyn'_ **(1).** He had hoped it had been a mistake when he had found it there last night. He had never looked at the very last page until now, always assuming it was blank. Part of him had wanted to fix his fractured relationship with his 'Uncle' Malcolm, but that could never happen now, because Malcolm wasn't just the Dark Archer, he was spearheading the very plan to destroy the Glades and kill everyone in it. He finished the rest of the bottle and ran his head through his hair, feeling sad and awful inside that he was going to have to kill his best friends father. He wished he didn't have to, but crime could not be tolerated. Criminals thrive on the indulgence and understanding of society. His sensei had taught him that.

He heard the door open and knew it was Chien. "Wow, you're drinking. That is not something you see everyday."

Nathan really wasn't in the mood for talking so he glared at her. Chien sighed and sat down next to him and slowly held him, enticing to lean over and place his head on her chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you might be having a hard time. You want to talk about it?"

"No," he muttered in sadness, "right now I'm sad, hurt, and in despair, because I'm gonna have to kill the guy that was once like an uncle to me, and deprive my best friend of his last remaining parent. So, ask me again if I'm okay."

"Well, it's a good thing I brought them, then." Chien said as Helena and Talia walked in and helped Chien comfort their beloved, being reminded that even as strong as he is, even the super soldier has his moments of weakness.

 **Laurel's apartment**

 **Noon**

The lawyer was talking on her phone, speaking with Tommy.

"Tommy, I just saw it all on the news." She was saying as she pulled on her coat, talking to her boyfriend who was with his father right now. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye." She hung up the phone and opened the door-

To see her mother walking up to the door.

"Hello, Laurel." Dinah said.

"Mom?" Laurel said, stunned. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you." Dinah said.

"About what?"

"I know I've made mistakes." She started.

Laurel scoffed. "Yeah. Yes, you have." She sighed. "Look, I really don't have time for this. Why don't you send me an email or a postcard some time?"

"I have something important I need to discuss with you." Dinah pleaded.

"What could be so important after all this time?"

"It's about Sara."

"What about her?" Laurel asked cautiously.

Dinah smiled hopefully. "I think she may be alive."

 **Chapter End**

 **1: It never made sense to me that after Robert Found out what Malcolm was up to and they had their falling out that he wouldn't have put Malcolm's name in there somewhere.**

 **So, quick announcement, I am going to be very busy with school and work this week, so I probably won't be able to finish the next chapter for at least a week. Sorry.**


	16. Chapter 16 - Making Preparations

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Sara Lance(Obviously, eventually), Lyla(Will join soon), Kara Danvers(eventually),**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Earth 2 Laurel Lance**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Alena, Evelyn Sharp, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor, Dinah Drake, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller(maybe, I don't know), Earth 1 Laurel Lance(Not sure at the moment)**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, McKenna Hall**

 **AN: So yeah, Nate never revealed to Tommy who he is, so Tommy's still in the dark.**

 **I have added the possibility of either Indigo or Alena to take over Felicity's original role.**

 **Some of you have mentioned in reviews that Nate's lacking in the reincarnation department. Don't worry too much, I will be establishing a connection between Nathan Queen and Naruto Uzumaki in Season 2. That way, it won't be so weird having a large harem.**

 **Chapter 16: Making Preparations**

 **Verdant**

 **Two days Later**

Nathan was giving Helena a guided tour of his recently finished club.

"Oh, my gosh! It looks amazing!" she said as they headed down the stairs from the second level.

"Yeah." Nathan pointed to the DJ booth. "Steve Aoki's going to DJ. Right there."

"What? How did you get Steve Aoki?" she asked in disbelief.

"I slept with his sister." Nathan said with a smile.

"Oh." Helena said, giving him a look.

"It was also like a million years ago." He assured her, wrapping his arm around her.

"Ok." She said with a smile.

Nathan chuckled. "So, will you be my date tomorrow night?"

"Is a club opening a proper date?" she asked with an impish grin.

"I certainly hope so." she chuckled at his response. "Is that a 'yes'?" he asked.

"No." she gave him a French Kiss. "That's a 'yes'."

"How's Tommy, by the way?" Helena asked.

"He's hasn't been well since he found out the guy who really killed his Mom was caught and then murdered. He quit the job I gave him as my general manager after he and his dad talked, so he now has a job working for his dad. Still not really sure exactly what he does though."

 **Big Belly Burger**

 **Same Time**

Laurel was seated at a table looking over the menu when Quentin walked in. She had spent the whole day yesterday comforting Tommy, then at night, she listened to what Dinah had to say.

"Laurel." He said, quickly moving to the table and taking off his coat. "I'm glad you called. Too much. It's too long for us to go without talking." He sat down.

"Dad, I have to tell you—" Laurel started to say, but her father cut her off.

"No, no, listen, before you say anything, I got to apologize. I should never have used you to catch the archer, and I'm sorry." He said sincerely. "Laurel, I'm just- I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Laurel said uncomfortably. "I owe you an apology, too."

Quentin looked at her in confusion. "For what?" he asked.

"Hello, Quentin."

Lance turned his head and saw his ex-wife standing there. He quickly stood, staring at her in shock.

 _"Oh boy, this won't go over as well as I thought."_ Laurel winced in thought.

"How are you?" she asked. "You look well."

 _"Seriously? Over three years after walking out on him and that is all she has to say_?" Laurel thought angrily.

"What are you doing here? Why…why are you here?" he stammered out.

"I'm here because I believe Sara's still alive." She said without preamble.

"What?!"

"Dad." Laurel had risen and put a calming hand on his arm. "Sit…"

"What is going on?" he demanded, even as he allowed Laurel to guide him back into his seat.

"Just hear mom out." She pleaded. "Sit."

"What's going on?" he demanded once more.

"Start from the beginning." Laurel told her mother.

Dinah sat as well and pulled out a map. "Nathan was found on an island called Lian Yu in the North China Sea." She said, pointing out the island, and then gesturing to the many islands that surrounded it. "There are hundreds; Thousands of deserted islands in this chain. What if Sara had survived, too? And nobody would know if she'd washed up in any one of those."

"So you don't actually have any proof that she's alive?" Quentin stated.

"I have proof." She pulled out a photograph and showed it to Quentin. It showed a tall, blonde girl with a ball cap pulled down low, hiding her face. "A tourist took this."

"Could be anybody." Quentin said defensively.

"Doesn't it look just like Sara?" Dinah said with a pleading tone in her voice. "Our daughter's a survivor, Quentin."

Quentin was silent for a few moments as he looked at the picture. "Ah, you have some nerve." He said finally. "Three years, no phone calls, no emails, nothing. You just show up with an old photo—"

"Dad, please." Laurel started, but Quentin cut her off.

"No." he turned to Laurel. "Please, you listen to me, ok? Sara died on that boat." He looked between the two women, near in tears. "Why… why are you making me re-live this?" he stood and moved to leave. "I'm not doing this."

Laurel sighed. "Dad, no…" she tried, but he was already out the door.

 _Flashback_

 _Nathan and Slade were still observing the missile launcher._

 _"One of those missiles has an effective range of up to 2,400 kilometers." Slade was telling Nathan. "We're not going anywhere until we figure out what Fyers is planning."_

 _"Wild guess? He's planning on making something go boom boom." Nathan replied sarcastically._

 _"Well, one of those could do the job. But this?" he indicated the launcher and the camp of mercenaries, "This is about starting a war."_

 _"With who?" Nathan asked._

 _"What does it matter? We have to stop Fyers before he kills thousands of innocent people." Slade replied._

 _"There are six soldiers down there." Nathan pointed out. "Even if we get through all of them, we can't just steal a whole missile launcher."_

 _Slade observed the camp with his glasses- and spied soldiers carrying crates marked 'Explosives'. And idea formed in his head. "Well, who said anything about stealing it?" he asked._

 _"So what's the plan? Ambush?" Nathan asked/ offered.  
_

 _Slade shook his head. "It's impossible. We can't take out all six without one radioing for back up."_

 _"We could if we could get all the soldiers in one place." Nathan noted._

 _Slade paused, and then stared at Nathan in consideration. "You're right." He said with approving nod._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 _ **Foundry**_

 _ **Nighttime**_

Nathan was explaining what happened to the team. He had went after John Nickel, but someone apparently got to him first. "He was just gone?" Helena asked in confusion.

"No. Not gone. Taken. Someone got there just before I did." Nathan clarified.

"Looks like Nickel finally pissed off one too many people." Lyla noted.

"After the fire last night, it's not entirely surprising." Nathan replied. He turned to the clone he created, "Get me everything that you can on Nickel." He told him. "Focus on his tenants, and anyone who might have filed a formal complaint against him, or people that lost something in the fire."

"Yes boss man!" The clone shouted at the top of it's lungs and saluted very comically.

"Your clone is being weird today Nate" Helena noted as she had never seen one of his clones do that.

"Yeah, I don't know what's up with that. There's a few days out of the year where one will come out defective."

"Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg-" The defective clone said as he continued saluting Nathan Nazi Style.

"Oh, for fucks sake." Nathan complained before he killed the clone and made another one that wasn't defective.

He picked up the book and started flipping through it before placing it down.

"So you're going to cross Nickel off anyway?" Lyla asked.

"Not til I know what happened to him. I'm calling it a night for now. I'll be with Helena if you need me." Nathan said as Helena walked off with him.

 **Nate's Apartment**

 **Next Morning**

Nathan woke up the next morning. To his right side was Talia and to his left side was Chien, while Helena's head resting on his chest. Talia and Chiens heads rested on each of his shoulders, spooning each of his sides. Nate's arms were wrapped around each of them, his hand cupping each of their ass cheeks. Helena's head rested on his chest, her hot body draped across him like a blanket, like the covers that pulled over all of them.

God, he loved each of the women in his bed. Nate absentmindedly wondered how big this harem of his would eventually get. He had a natural charm and magnetism that attracted women to him as well as high sex drive before the Mirakuru and all that got enhanced as well. With his nearly inexhaustible sex drive, there was no telling how many women he would one day be loving simultaneously.

Getting up and silently slipping out of his bed, getting his boxers and jeans on. Hearing his phone vibrate, he picked it up. Looking down, he saw that it was Lyla. "Yeah?" he said, answering the call.

"Your clone found Nickel." She said without preamble. "Click the link I just sent you. This came up on every screen with an I.P. address originating from the Glades last night."

Nathan did so and saw what had transpired last night. He decided the girls needed to see this.

 **1 hour later**

 **The Lair**

 _"If you make the Glades your home, you know who this man is." An unknown voice was saying as they watched around the computer. "John Nickel. He owns your tenements. Manages your slums. Provides the leaking roofs over your heads. The mold in your pipes and asbestos in your walls. Basically, he makes money off our suffering." Nickel's let out a muffled scream. "But the police aren't interested in helping us. They may have let us down, but I won't. John, I want to give you the chance to state your case. Why shouldn't you be punished?" a hand reached out and tore the tape away from the slum lord's mouth._

 _Nickel gasped in pain. "I knew there was bad stuff in my buildings." He said fearfully._

 _"Ok, yes, I made a little profit!" Nickel continued over the air." At least they had a place thanks to me. People like that would end up on the street."_

 _The man slapped the tape back over Nickel's mouth. "People like that." He repeated angrily as Nickel's muffled cries echoed in the background. "That's all we are to guys like this."_ The girls and Nathan watched on.

 _The camera shifted slightly, and suddenly a gun came into let out a muffled scream in panic, and began thrashing around uselessly. "I find you Guilty." The man said, and then fired twice._

 _"There are plenty more people who need to answer for their crimes against us." The voice said as the camera lingered on Nickel's corpse. "So…who's next?"_

"Anything new?" Nate asked his clone.

"This guy's definitely got some skill in hacking. His website's protected by some very serious encryption."

"Let me know when you have something." Nathan said as he walked over to a black crate, containing something special. He ran his hands along it, wondering if it was time to open it.

"Spoke with one of my contacts in the NSA." Lyla said. "The website code matches a cyber-crusader who's been on their hacks into fringe sites under the user name 'The Savior'. NSA believes he's a former resident of the Glades."

"Former?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah," Lyla nodded. "Well, a year ago, he hacked himself right off the erased all traces of his existence."

"So he's practically untraceable. Great." Chien drawled. Then another live video was being posted

 _Once more there was a man, his mouth taped and his wrists bound holding him standing up. "We're back." The voice announced. "I have with me assistant district attorney Gavin Carnahan." Gavin let out a muffled groan. "Now, DAs are supposed to go after bad guys. But this one can't even be bothered to bring them to the ones who killed my wife in a bodega."_

"Find him" Nathan told his clone.

"I'm on it." He said.

 _"They said there wasn't enough evidence." The voice continued. "You think the evidence would have turned up if she'd been killed in one of Starling City's nicer neighborhoods?"_

"So his wife dies and he thinks it's his god given right to kill people he thinks deserves to die? The Savior, more like savior complex." Nathan said.

"Couldn't agree with you more, Nate. A vendetta and a savior complex makes him extremely dangerous." Lyla said grimly.

The clone found a news article about a bodega shooting. "Emma Falk." Lyla read. "Grieving husband is Joseph Falk."

"What do we have on him?" Nathan asked.

"Not much, boss." His clone had already pulled up what records it could find on him. "City of Transportation, computer technician, left his job when she was killed." He looked back at Nathan. "One year ago today."

"No current phone, no current address." Lyla noted.

 _"Gavin, you're a lawyer." Falk continued. "You're used to making a case. So go ahead. I'm going to give you ten minutes to deliver the closing argument of your life."_

The clone was frantically working the keyboard. "I'm trying to get a lock on his wireless signal."

 _"Ten minutes to convince me not to blow you away." Falk set the camera down on a table, and then set his watch down in front of it._

 _ **Flashback**_

 _The scene flashed back to the Island. Nathan, his ski masked pulled down to hide his face, was escorting a supposedly bound Slade Wilson towards the encampment with the missile launcher._

 _"Hey!" he called out, gaining the mercenary's attention. "I found an intruder while I was circling the perimeter."_

 _"It's Wilson." One of the merc's said. "You killed a few of my friends, you son of a bitch."_

 _"And I'm going to kill a few more." Slade replied. He pulled his hands from behind his back, which both contained a Colt 1911. He opened fire with both guns simultaneously and managed to drop all six guards with single shots each. Slade looked back at a kneeling Nathan and grinned. Nathan watched with a smirk, then got up and followed him._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **CNRI**

 **Same time**

Laurel was working on her own time, trying to find out who the girl in the picture was. She didn't notice Thea walking behind her, filing away some documents, and barely noticed her when she came to stand next to her.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" Thea asked hesitantly. "Almost woman to woman."

Laurel didn't even look up. "I'm really busy right now." She said.

As she walked away, Laurel's head finally came up and she realized that the younger girl had tried to ask her something. She rose from her chair and quickly walked towards Thea. "Thea!" she called out, stopping the girl in her tracks. She came up and gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry." She apologized. "What's up?"

Thea took a breath. "I could use some advice." She began. "I'm sort of dating this guy who would definitely be described as a bad boy. I figured, as someone who's dated like a gajillion of them—"

"I haven't dated a gajillion."

Thea gave her a look. She sighed. "All right, guilty as charged."

"You want my advice?" she put he hands on Thea's arms and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Run. As fast as you possibly can."

"Yeah. See, that was my first instinct, too, but—" she started, but was cut off by another intern.

"Laurel?" the intern held up a phone. "The Chinese embassy's on line two. I'm transferring him over."

"Chinese embassy?" Thea asked in confusion.

Laurel gave her a brittle smile. "It's just this case that I'm working but we are definitely continuing this conversation later." She told her as she walked quickly back to her desk, leaving a dejected Thea behind.

"Thank you so much for getting back to me." Laurel said, taking a seat at her desk. "I'm trying to track down a woman in the photo that I emailed you." She listened for a few moments. "You did. Really? And you're sure that she's in the states now?" she pulled out a pen and pad of paper. "Do you happen to have an address on her?" she asked, scribbling the address they gave her even as she stared at the picture of the mysterious girl.

 **Back in the Lair**

The clone was rapidly typing on the keyboard, and finally it managed to track Falk's signal. It pulled up a map that showed his current location. "I found him!" the clone said.

"Shut the site down." Nathan ordered. The clone typed some more, but then shook its head. "Can't. He has a firewall protecting his wireless signal. But he's working off an IPX located at 23rd and Mira."

Nathan ran and grabbed his helmet.

"You want to suit up?" Lyla asked asked as Nathan ran to the stairs.

"It's the middle of the day!" Nathan jumped on his bike and took off for the address.

"How's Carnahan?" Nathan asked on his bike a minute later.

"Failing to make a persuasive argument." Talia told him.

"I'm almost there!" Nathan weaved in and out of traffic, finally arriving at the building. He ran in the front door, and when the security door stopped him, he busted the glass and unlocked it. He ran in, looking up and down the halls for any clues as to where Falk was.

"See anything?" Helena asked.

"I'm only on the first floor!' He called back.

"Just six more to go." Lyla noted. Nathan began kicking open doors, one after the other, only to find empty offices.

 _'There aren't resources. I tried.' Gavin was pleading. Falk jammed his gun into the lawyer's ribs. 'Oh, my God! I'm sorry!' he pleaded._

Door after door, floor after floor, Nathan busted them all open- only to find nothing. "I can't find him," he said over the line in frustration. Finally, the last door he busted through was the roof. He looked around in anger. "He's not here." he said.

"What?!" the clone asked.

"I searched every office on every floor! He's not here." He took a breath. "Is this the right place?" he asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I—" he said, double checking the signal. To his surprise, however, the signal location had moved. "Oh no." he muttered.

"What?" Nathan demanded.

"What the fuck?" the clone asked. "This can't be right."

"Talk to me!" Nathan said.

"He's moved." He checked the map. "Just north of and Grand."

Nathan took off at a dead run. "On my way!" he shouted. He began leaping from rooftop to rooftop, moving at inhuman speed taking the fastest way to the new location- a straight line.

Nathan shimmied down the side of a building, and then jumped onto the roof of a passing truck. He leapt off of that into the road, dodging between honking cars. He ran down Ocean, passing a boarded up subway station as he leapt a fence.

"I'm at Ocean and Grand." Nathan announced, looking around at a lot under construction. "It's just a vacant lot."

 _'I took on cases that were-that I thought that I could Win.' Gavin was pleading. 'I'm sorry.'_

 _'Gavin Carnahan, I find you guilty of crimes against the Glades.' Falk said, raising his gun._

 _'Don't do this! Don't do this!' Gavin pleaded futilely._

 _'And I sentence you to death.'_

As Gavin screamed in vain, Falk opened fire, pumping five rounds into the lawyer's chest.

Lyla let out a long sigh, and then wearily sat in her chair, while Nate's clone rubbed his head in exhaustion. She picked up the earpiece and put it to his ear.

"Nathan, it's over, Carnahan is dead." She told him.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Slade was breaking open crates of explosives; he grabbed a handful of the long, thin bricks of C4 and gave them to Nathan. "Place these around the launcher." He ordered. "Do it quickly. Their backup will be arriving any second." The two started hastily setting the C4 sticks all around the launcher, and had only just started when the radio crackled to life._

 _'We're 60 seconds out from the launcher.' A voice said. Slade's eyes widened in surprise._

 _"Set your final charges and we'll blow it." He yelled._

 _Nathan paused, and idea coming to him. He moved to the back of the launcher and found an access door. "I got a better idea." He told Slade as he opened the door and slid out the motherboard._

 _"What are you doing?" Slade asked in exasperation._

 _Nathan looked at the board and found what he was looking for- a processor chip. He yanked it off the board and showed it to Slade. "I'm taking the circuit board. No computer will work without them, and given the complexity of this equipment, I'm pretty sure Fryers doesn't have a spare board lying around." He explained._

 _Slade looked at him in excitement. "Leverage." He realized. Slade clapped the younger man on the shoulder, and the two took off for the trees._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Lair**

 **A few minutes later**

Nathan came back down to the Lair, finding his clone, as well as Lyla, Helena, Chien, and Talia. His clone turned to him and said, "I'm sorry boss. I don't know what the hell happened."

"It's not your fault." He said to his clone, "Nobody is at fault for what happened. But we need to find out figure out how Falk slipped through our fingers." He walked over to his clone and said, "Play that first video again."

 _ **Flashback**_

 _It was night, and Fyers and his men were swarming around the launcher, looking for clues as to where Slade and Nathan were._

 _And they actually weren't far. The two men observed the action from their observation post on the ridgeline._

 _"Your plan, your call." Slade told Nathan, handing him the radio._

 _Nathan nodded, and then activated the radio. "Fyers."_

 _Down next to the launcher, a furious Fyers grabbed at his own radio. "Mr. Queen." He hissed. "I thought I might be hearing from you."_

 _"We have the circuit board." Nathan said bluntly._

 _"You're making a grave mistake." Fyers warned. "My men are scouring the island for you as we speak. And when they find you, they will kill you. Very slowly, I'm afraid."_

 _"If your men kill us, then you'll never find the circuit board. And after that, we both know that all you'll be left with is a really useless piece of modern art." He looked at Slade and nodded in satisfaction at his insult; Slade was amused by his bravado._

 _"What do you propose?" Fyers said after a moment._

 _"A trade." Nathan said simply._

 _"I see. And what do you want in exchange?" he asked, already knowing the answer._

 _"I want a way off the island. Simple exchange." He said as Slade looked on. "You get us a way off the island, and we'll give you the circuit board so that your missile launcher isn't just furniture."_

 _Fyers began to pace next to the launcher. "You've grown up quite a bit, Mr. Queen. I'll give you that." He thought for a moment. "I can get you a boat. But I need time."_

 _"You got an hour, Fyers, and then you're never—" Slade snatched the mic from his hand._

 _"What?!" Nathan demanded._

 _Slade gave him a look, and then spoke into the mic. "We understand it might take you longer than an hour to get a boat. What we mean is you need to move with some dispatch."_

 _"Ah, Wilson, still in command there, eh? I thought your little pet had staged a coup d'état." Fyers said in a patronizing tone._

 _"Just get us the damn boat." Slade growled._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Glades**

 **Evening**

Thea walked slowly up to Roy's house. Roy was just leaving as she neared the door, and he sighed in exasperation.

"Wow. I was waiting for this." He said as he bounded down the front steps and breezed past her.

"Waiting for what?" Thea asked, equally exasperated.

"The whole _'You can change, I can see the real you_ ' speech." He spun around gesturing wildly with his arms. "Look around, this is home sweet home for me. In The Glades, you either starve or you do things that mean you're lucky enough to make it to 21."

Thea shook her head. "I can't accept that."

"Can't accept me." Roy corrected.

Thea sighed, and was ready to continue the argument when another voice interrupted them.

"Roy Harper?"

"Yeah?" Roy started to turn around when suddenly a needle was jammed into his neck.

"Roy!" Thea screamed, lunging on the man as he injected something. The man grabbed her and roughly shoved her to the ground. As she fell, she hit head first, knocking her out.

The man walked to the fallen Roy. While the sedative was already working, Roy had the presence of mind to take out his gun. He pulled the trigger- but it was empty. He absently noted that the bullets were still on the table inside when the man roughly knocked the gun out of his hand, then hauled him up and tossed him into the back of a black panel van.

Thea started stirring just as the van peeled out of the drive and into the darkness of the night.

 **Laurel's apartment**

 **Same Time**

Laurel and Quentin both walked into find Dinah sorting some papers, including 'Missing' posters of Sara.

"What are you doing?" Lance asked.

"So it's not Sara in the photo." Dinah said. "But she's still out there, I'm going to find her."

Both Quentin and Laurel looked at her is disbelief, and she sighed. "Look, I understand now that neither of you have the stomach to continue looking for her and that's fine. I'm sorry I involved you both." She moved over to the walls and started pulling things down.

"You know that I would cross to hell and back to bring her home, but I CAN'T! "Quentin shouted, his control leaving him. "Because she's gone, Di." He continued.

"No." Dinah denied frantically pulling posters off the wall.

"You got to let go of this now." He told her.

"No! I can't! I won't!" Dinah shouted back.

Laurel looked down at the pictures of the girl, Jen, and something that had been gnawing at her conscience since she met the girl finally made itself known. "How did you know Sara had her hat with her when she went on the boat?" Laurel asked, causing Dinah to freeze.

Sensing she was on to something, Laurel pressed on. "You were so sure that the girl in the photo was Sara. Not because she was American or blonde, but because of her Starling City Rockets hat that dad bought her." Dinah refused to look at her, but she was still frozen in place. "Mom, how did you know she took her hat with her on 'The Queen's Gambit' with Oliver?"

Dinah let out a groan. "I saw her."

"What?" Laurel demanded in a cold voice, shock, anger, and betrayal flooding her.

Quentin looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I came home early that day, and I saw her. Sara." She started crying. "I saw her put the hat in a bag. She was packing."

Quentin stared at her in disbelief. "You knew she was going with him?" he accused.

"You knew?" Laurel demanded in a voice that shook with anger and betrayal, "you knew that my boyfriend was cheating on me with my own sister? And you let me find out by learning that they were both dead!?"

Dinah finally turned around to face them both. "I told her not to… I told her not to do this, not to you, Laurel." she told her eldest, who was also crying. "But she said she was in love and she had to follow her heart, even if nobody else thought it was right. Just like… I told her Just like I told her I once did. So I let her go." She gasped. "I killed her. I—" she sobbed collapsing back against the wall. "Oh God, I killed my daughter." She sobbed.

Quentin rushed over to her, tears streaming down his own face and took her into his arm. "I killed her. I'm so sorry, Quentin." She continued to sob.

"I'm so sorry, Quentin. I killed our baby." Laurel stood apart, her face full of anger and sorrow as she watched her mother collapse into her father's arms.

 **Verdant**

 **20 minutes later**

Nathan's clone was looking over some paperwork as the girls set up for the night when a news bulletin came on the flat screen hung on the wall.

 _'More on the story out of the kidnapper seems to have another victim and is broadcasting the feed to his website.'_ The news feed shifted to Falk's video feed, which showed a roughed up Roy bound as the other victims had been. Nate's eyes widened in shock- he'd recognized the name as Thea's friend. He put down his clipboard and moved closer to the TV _. 'A warning to viewers, this is live footage, so we're not sure what we're about to see.'_

 _Falk ripped off the tape over Roy's mouth; the boy let out a gasp as Falk started talking. "Meet Roy Harper. Arrests for larceny and robbery, aggravated assault." He listed. "And yet you're out on the street. Another gangbanger in the Glades running free, like the ones who killed my wife."_

 _Roy struggled futility to free himself as Falk kept the camera zoomed in on his face. "I grew up in the Glades; it didn't turn me into a criminal."_

"Nate!" The clone turned to see a very disheveled Thea running into the club. "Nate?" she saw Roy on the screen and let out a sob. "Oh! Oh, God, no." she turned to her brother. "I didn't know where else to go."

Nathan took her by the shoulders. "What happened?"

"Roy, we were in a fight and some guy came out of nowhere and just attacked us! He doesn't deserve to die!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.

"I promise you, he's going to be ok." The clone said as he comforted his creators sister.

 _ **Down below in the Lair**_

"I've been going through all the video we got, trying to see if there's anything that'll tell us where this guy is." The other clone told Nate. "I got nothing, except an ambient rhythmic." It pulled it up and played it on speaker. "Here, I've isolated it." The five stopped and listened. Lyla frowned, a memory plying at the back of her mind. She picked up a headset and pressed one cup to her ear.

Lyla leaned in close. "Show me a map." She asked, and the clone pulled up a map of Starling City. "Sights of the abductions so far." She added, and she placed them on the map. "Right there, right there." She said, pointing to one of the spots. "Locksley and Adams." Her finger moved to the next spot. "Wells Street down by CNRI. Those are all subway stops!" she announced.

"Last time I checked, Starling City doesn't have a subway." Nathan noted.

Lyla shook her head. "No, but they used to. My ex-husband told me about it once. When he was a kid, his dad used to take him down to the Rockets game. By 14 minutes, he'd lean against the window, feeling the rhythm of the train moving." She explained.

"That's how he did it." Helena realized. She looked back at Nathan. "He was at 23rd and Mira, but he used to work for the Department of Transportation, so that's why he knows all the old subway's and why you couldn't get a lock the signal." She finished. "He was moving. He's in a subway car."

"Where is he now?" Nathan asked.

"He's on the old cross town line." The clone yelled. "If he continues on this route, he'll be at the Spring Street stop in 15 minutes."

"Helena, suit up." Nathan said, going to grab his gear but stopped at the black metal case he was messing with earlier. Making a decision, he grabbed it and began unlocking it.

"Beloved, what is in that case?" Talia asked.

Nathan finished unlocking and paused for a moment, "Another monster." Nathan said as he opened it and grabbed his gear.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Fyers with a company of men and Yao Fei at his side approached a clearing. For the opposite direction came Nathan and Slade, who had his 1911's drawn, but pointed down._

 _"Gentlemen." Fyers said casually. He had his own pistol drawn, and crossed his arms in front of himself. "Welcome. So happy we were able to reach an accord."_

 _"Oh, talk." Slade said in annoyance. He turned to Fyers. "Are we going to get on with this?"_

 _"As you to business." Fyers looked to Nathan. "The circuit board." He demanded. "Where is it?"_

 _"Somewhere you'll never find it." Nathan said evasively. "Now, get us to the boat and then we'll tell you where it is."_

 _"And of course you'll be honest about its location." Fyers said sarcastically._

 _"Well, I wouldn't be." Slade told the man honestly. Then he nodded at Nathan. "But this one's got some strange hang up about principles and integrity."_

 _"I always imagined as much." Fyers said. "Which is why I'd like to make a counter proposal. "Men!" he called out. Suddenly two guards came out form the back dragging a woman. She was an Asian woman, with long dark hair and her hands bound behind her. The guards dragged her roughly, and then dropped her to the ground as she screamed out in anger._

 _"No!" Yao Fei screamed. He made to move towards the woman, but one of the guards next to him smacked him on the temple with the butt of his rifle, sending the man to his knees. As he struggled, several men restrained him as they put him in handcuffs._

 _"You will deliver back to me the circuit board, or I will kill Yao Fei's daughter." Fyers said coldly, and it all fell into place for Nathan._

 _"That's why he wouldn't leave." He whispered to himself._

 _"I can't imagine you want the death of an innocent young woman on your hands." Fryers spat. "Not with your…principles."_

 _Slade grinned and raised one of his guns, pointing it directly at Fyers' head. "Let the girl go." He said, even as the other soldiers raised their weapons at him._

 _"No deal?" Fyers said casually. "Very well. Kill her."_

 _Several things happened at once. Slade knocked the guns away from the nearby soldiers. At the same time, the girl reached back and slapped one gun away, then leapt up and disarmed the other guard. She punched one, then the other, then locked the first into an arm bar while warping her legs around the others, sending all three to the ground. Slade opened fire then, killing some of the soldiers outright, and Yao Fei tripped one of the soldiers, and then wrapped his leg around the man's neck. With a twist, it was broken._

 _Nathan charged at one soldier and shoved him hard into a tree. He followed that up with two hard punches, and then stabbed the soldier in the throat with his K-Bar Knife. He pulled out the Berreta he had taken from the soldier he had disarmed previously and fired two shots, killing two more men._

 _Fyers stalked up to the girl, who had just finished off her two. He lifted the gun to shoot her in the head, but a shot was fired from Nathan, and Fyers gripped his hand in pain as the bullet left a small bleeding hole in his hand, causing him to drop his gun. She quickly sent him to the ground, then climbed on his chest and unleashed a flurry of punches to his face, rendering the man unconscious._

 _The soldiers momentarily defeated. The group gathered together. Slade smirked at the girl as she walked over to her father. "That was unexpected." He remarked. She grinned back at him, and then helped her father up, who had already freed himself of the restraints._

 _Fyers, seeing them loose and about to escape, called to his men that had been waiting in the forest. "Fire!" A line of fire from automatic rifles suddenly lanced out as more soldiers appeared. Slade picked up an assault rifle and returned fire, covering Nathan, Yao Fei, and the girl as they made their way for cover. A stray bullet lanced caught Yao Fei in the leg, sending him stumbling. Nathan picked him up and helped him hobble a few more yards until they were under some cover. The man collapsed to the ground._

 _Nathan pulled on his arm, trying to get the man back up. "Come on! Come on!" he urged as the fire continued behind them._

 _Yao Fei pushed him away. "Get her to safety!" he told him, nodding at his daughter. At Nathan's indecision, he yelled. "Now! I'll only slow you down!" he urged. Slade came to them then and grabbed the girl, even as she screamed for her father. "Just go! You've got to go!" he urged._

 _"Go! Go! Go!" Slade urged as the three ran off into the forest._

 _ **Flashback End**_

Nathan and Helena pulled up next to the abandoned subway station at Ocean Avenue. He fired an explosive arrow at an access grate, blowing it off, and then dropped a line down into the hole. They both slid down the line, ending up in an access tunnel for the subway itself. The two vigilantes ran through the tunnel, hearing a train, and stopped just shy of the tracks as a train sped past.

Back in the Lair, Lyla were watching the screen as Falk started up again. "It's happening." Lyla told Nathan.

 _"I'll give you 10 minutes to state your case, Roy."_ Falk was telling Roy in the train car. Roy stared back, defeat in his eyes. _"So tell me, do you get to live?"_

Roy closed his eyes, the weight of his life pressing down on him. "I shouldn't." he said finally.

"Just do it, kill me." Falk stared back, stunned. He wasn't expecting that. "Just go on!" Roy shouted. "Kill me!"

Falk lowered the camera slightly so he could look Roy in the eyes. _"You really don't care if you live or die?"_ he asked, dumbfounded.

Roy just stared back at him with a defeated expression. "Who's going to miss me?"

Back at Verdant, Thea stood, waiting anxiously for a miracle. Her eyes filled with tears at his pronouncement. ' _I'm just a waste.'_ Nate's clone held to her close, giving her silent support.

 _"Then we agree on something_." Falk said, staring hard at the boy. _"This world would be better off without you in it."_

Falk raised the gun, and Roy closed his eyes, preparing for the end. Suddenly there was a crash on the roof of the train. Falk looked up, startled. A shuriken sliced Falk's hand, causing him to drop the camera, and then embedded itself in rail close to where Roy's restraints were.

Back at Verdant, all Thea saw was the camera falling to the ground, still displaying a tilted image of the inside of the car.

Falk moved cautiously down the train, searching of the source of the sound. A crossbow bolt was fired, hitting Falk in the shoulder. Falk looked around frantically as he tried in vain to pull the bolt out, not seeing anyone. The railcar passed underneath a dark spot, and when the light's came back on, a dark figure appeared. It was Nate in a different costume with his bow holstered **(This new costume looks exactly like Prometheus's costume from S5 of Arrow, except it is all colored jet black, Nate still wears his bladed gauntlets and metal plated gloves, his arrows are still black and red, and he wears two chokuto swords)(1)**. With Joseph's and the media's attention on Nate, Helena slipped in behind Roy and Began sneaking up toward.

" **Joseph Falk,"** Nate growled as he unsheathed one of his Chokuto and held it out at the deranged man, **"You have failed this city." (2)  
**

"Who are you?" Joseph demanded, "You're not the Arrow!"

" **No."** Nate shook his head, " **I am his disciple, and the one who will inherit his will when he is gone. I am…Prometheus."** It was at that moment that a clone wearing the Arrow costume showed up, to add to the illusion.

 **"Let the kid go."** The Arrow growled. **"You kill this kid, he'll never get an opportunity to** **change!"** he said, trying to reason with the man so he didn't murder an innocent kid. " **You can give him a second chance."**

"We're the only ones who can save this city!" Falk protested; the gun trained on the The Arrow's chest. "We can't stop now."

 **"Do not compare yourself to us, scumbag! We are nothing like you!"** Prometheus snarled as Roy watched. Helena popped out in front of Roy, shushing him with a finger to his lips as she began carefully freeing Roy.

"You've all killed people for this city, so have I." Falk said. Nate shifted his eyes to Roy and Helena. "What's the difference between you and me? Emma never got her second chance." Falk continued. "You have no idea how lonely it is."

" **The difference between us, Falk, is quite simple,"** Prometheus said, his chokuto still pointed at Faulkner, continuing his message as the feed was still on and everyone was watching, " **My teacher, Huntress, and I all protect innocent people. We only go after the guilty one's poisoning our city, murders, rapists, etc. Our mission to protect the good people in this city is just, and founded upon a purpose greater than ourselves. You are only doing this to serve your own selfish vendetta.** **You only do this to make yourself feel better at failing to get justice for your wife. The people you target are individuals who never technically broke the law or petty thieves that never truly harmed anyone. It's all personal to you and that makes you** ** **a fucking hypocrite.** You don't care about who's really innocent and who's guilty so long as you can feel better."**

"He deserves it." Falk said. Helena freed on of Roy's hands, and rapidly went to cut loose the other. "Just like the gangbangers who gunned her down, he's no different than them."

" **He's innocent!"** Prometheus shouted, " **His only crime is being born into poverty and being forced to do whatever it takes to make ends meet. That's not being a criminal by choice, that's surviving. This kid's only other choice is to starve to death. He didn't fail this city like you did, the city failed him."**

"He's guilty! And now I get to gun him down!" Falk screamed manically as he turned and raised the gun at Roy, who Helena had freed.

 **"Don't do it!"** The Arrow yelled. Roy and Helena ducked as Falk fired. The deranged man only got off one shot before Prometheus plunged his chokuto through the deranged man's chest. He gasped in surprise and pain, looking down at the blade as it was pulled out. Roy watched, stunned as Falk slowly sank onto the bench seat of the train, the gun dropping out of his hand to the floor as he died, the whole city seeing it.

Roy groaned as he pulled himself up, and then took a seat on the opposite bench, staring at where the vigilantes had been standing, who had unknowingly changed his life.

 **Verdant**

 **30 minutes Later**

Thea was sitting at a table with Nate's clone, staring into space when her phone found buzzed. She looked down and picked up her phone, and her eyes widened in surprise as she saw she had a text from Roy.

' _Turn to your left'_

Thea spun to see a still shaken Roy walking towards her. She let out a happy sob as she grabbed him and hugged him tightly. "I thought you were going to die." She said, crying.

"That makes two of us." Roy replied, hugging her back equally as tight. After a moment, Thea pulled back.

"I probably look like a mess." She said, smiling now. "I'm going to go to the bathroom and freshen way, way up."

"Ok." Roy said, watching her walk away. Nate turned around and went outside, letting the two have their moment. He never saw Roy, still in shock from the night, pull out the shuriken that had saved his life. He stared at it, equally deep in thought.

The real Nathan walked out of the club after dispelling his clones, still thinking about what Falk had said to him. He was walking aimlessly down the street when a familiar voice stopped him.

Laurel had taken a cab to Verdant, looking to forget the day she had had. As she looked around, she spied Nathan walking away out of the corner of her eye. "Nate?" she called out.

Nathan plastered a smile on his face as he turned. "Hi!"

"Hey." Laurel walked up to him. "I heard Thea's friend was ok." She said.

"Yeah. I'm glad the kids alright." He gave her a look. "This Roy is more than just a friend, isn't he?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"Bad boys. They hook you every time." She said. She started to head for the club.

"Oh, uh, Tommy quit his job here a few days." Nathan said realizing she was looking for him.

Laurel paused. "Oh, he didn't tell me that." She said, not knowing what to do.

"Don't worry about it. From what Tommy told me, he was accepted to work with his father. It probably also helps that your relationship won't be so strained anymore due the drastically different hours." Nathan said looked at her with narrowed eyes. "You all right? You seem like you have something on your mind."

"My mom, she showed up in town this week and she's been…" she trailed off.

"What?"

"She had this crazy idea that Sara was still alive." She said to his shock. "She was so sure of it that she kind of had me believing it, also." Laurel took a breath. "But Sara's gone." She said finally.

"Yeah." Nathan said. That was one thing he didn't want to relive. Losing Sara for a 2nd time when the Amazo sank.

"I can't believe she sucked me in like that." Laurel said.

"You miss her." Nathan said.

"I miss them both." She countered. She sighed." Thanks for listening."

"Sure thing." He said. As she walked off, he called out to her again. "Laurel." She turned to look at him. "Do you want to-I don't know- hang out as friends sometime?" He asked uncertainly.

Laurel looked at him in confusion. "Why?"

"I don't want to be stuck on that island anymore." He said after a moment's reflection.

Laurel smiled softly at him. "Sure." She said. It wouldn't happen tonight, but it would happen sometime. Two old friends reconnecting. "Good night." She said.

"Good night." This time, he let her walk into the club, then turned and walked off into the night.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Nathan was searching an old rotted out stump, and when he came up empty, he turned back to the other two with a sinking feeling. "Slade? We got a problem. The damn circuit board's gone."_

 _Slade looked at him in surprise, and then pushed past to search himself. "Damn." He said after a moment. "Fyers played us. While he was screwing us around, his men were combing the woods for it." He stood and got into Nathan's face. "Now his missile launcher is fully operational."_

 _"And he was never going to let us off the island," Nathan said in disgust, pushing the older man away. "I get it!"_

 _"Of course he wasn't going to help you!" The girl said- in English. "He couldn't chance you warning the mainland what he has planned!"_

 _Nathan sighed in annoyance. "She speaks English. Great."_

 _"Yeah, well, guess what." Slade growled at her. "Neither one of us have any idea what the hell his plans are."_

 _She turned away for a few seconds, trying to think. Soon, she turned back to face the two men. "I do." She said._

 **Chapter End**

 **AN:**

 **1: Does anyone else think it weird that it's always the villains that get the cool costume's? Anyway, I love Prometheu's costume and decided to start using it. Nathan will play Prometheus strictly for a few seasons before truly taking on the title of Black Arrow in Season 4 onward.**

 **2: Voice Modulator is still the same as Prometheus.**


	17. Chapter 17 - Saving Walter

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli,** **Lyla,** **Sara Lance(Obviously, eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth 0 Laurel Lance (eventually)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Alena**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Lena Luthor, Dinah Drake, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller(maybe, I don't know), McKenna Hall**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Earth 2 Laurel Lance**

 **AN: I realized I made a mistake in previous chapters when posting the Harem List. This entire story takes place in Earth Prime aka Earth 0. Arrowverse Canon takes places on Earth's 1, 2, and 38.**

 **I'm going to have Earth Prime Laurel eventually get with Nathan. I finally came to that decision.**

 **Alena will show up and fulfill the role as team hacker that Felicity filled in the Arrow Canon. Eventually.**

 **Verdant**

 **One Day after last chapter**

The hour was late, but the music was blaring, the lights were flashing, and the bodies were writing on the dance floor. One girl in particular was finding herself fascinated with the lights and sound, staring all around with a vacant look while she swayed to a beat only she could hear. She swayed to that beat out of the club and into the middle of a busy street, where after too many close calls she was finally hit head on.

In the morning, after the club had closed, Helena walked through the club as the staff cleaned up. "How's the club doing?" she asked Nathan, who grinned in return.

"We are in the black, and the green." Nathan handed him a tablet with their latest financials on it.

"I like how you went from throwing money at clubs 5 years ago to catching it." Helena noted when something else caught her eye. "Oh, look at these." She picked up a black lace bra- one of many in the tote behind the bar. "What business has a lost and found that's just filled with women's underwear?"

"The best business ever?" Nathan noted with a smile.

"Mm, only you could say that and get away with it, handsome." Helena flirted, trailing a finger across his chin.

Nathan smirked and in response, Nathan leapt over the bar, grasping the back of Helena's neck with one hand, groping her sexy ass with the other, and pulling her in from a steamy hot make-out session that lasted several minutes. "Give me a few minutes and they'll be finding your underwear in that tote later tonight." He whispered suggestively.

"Oh, if wishing made it so." The two looked up in surprise to see Quentin Lance stalking across the floor towards them, interrupting the couple before they could continue. "Sorry, am I interrupting anything?" He said sarcastically.

"What is it? Is Laurel ok?" Nathan asked at once.

"She's fine. This visit is about something else. A girl just got mowed down a couple blocks from here." He pulled out his phone and flipped through his photos, bringing up a picture of the dead girl in the road. He showed it to the two. "On Starling Bridge. Ring any bells with you?"

"Nope. Should I?" Nathan asked, looking at the picture.

"She was in your club tonight." He said, pulling out an evidence bag containing a neon green wristband that all customers got upon entering the club.

"A lot of people come into my club." Nathan stated shrugged defensively. "You think someone killed her?"

"Not someone." He pulled out another bag and set it on top of the first. The bag contained a smaller bag containing some pills. "Something."

"Drugs." Nathan realized.

"Yeah." Lance agreed. He looked to Nathan. "You got a problem with that in this club?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I don't allow drugs in here, Detective." He replied with finality.

Lance looked at the two. "Control your clientele." He ordered. "Before anyone else wanders into traffic."

They watched him leave the club, and Helena turned to Nathan. "Is there any chance she _could_ have scored the drugs in here?" she asked her boyfriend.

"Unlikely. I didn't hire anyone with a known history of drug dealing nor do I let anyone like that in here." Nathan replied, creating a clone and told him while regaining his breath, "Get me a list of all the employees."

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Slade and Shado were sparring vigorously in the plane as Nathan watched, inspecting Shado's bow in his hands absentmindedly._

 _The match ended when Shado got Slade down onto his back. She was crouched over him, her hand raised to deliver a punch to his face; but Slade had pulled a small blade from somewhere and tapped it against her lower back._

 _"You're teaching me that one." Slade said with a smile._

 _"Only if you show me where the knife was." She chuckled. She rose to her feet and held out a hand, helping him up._

 _"Who taught you how to fight?" Slade asked._

 _"My father wanted a son." Shado said, taking a drink of water._

 _"He got one." Slade replied._

 _Shado looked over to see Nathan fiddling with her bow. "The tension of that bow's 150 pounds." She told him. "Snap it; you'll both be covered by carbon fiber shrapnel in your eyes."_

 _"She's right." Slade said. "You're not strong enough yet, kid." He looked to Shado. "Go again?"_

 _"It's pretty awesome that both of you are such bad asses, but do you think that maybe we should be making a plan to stop Fyers? And oh, I don't know… save your dad?" Nathan asked sarcastically._

 _"Does he always whine this much?" Shado asked Slade with a smile._

 _"Today's one of his good days." Slade noted._

 _"Can he fight?"_

 _"He does have some skill, but he needs more training. I've had limited success"._

 _Nathan pursed his lips in annoyance. "I'm standing right here, you know."_

 _"Well, I haven't tried yet." Shado said. Slade laughed as Nathan looked between the two of them._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **SCPD**

 **Nightime**

Quentin was going over some old reports at his desk. Hilton walked up to him.

"Veronica Sparks, the dead girl from Verdant?"

"Yeah?"

"I checked her LUDs. The last person she texted before she died was Nathaniel Queen."

Lance frowned. "He said he didn't know her." He said as Hilton sat down.

"Queen did used to get in trouble with the police a lot. Assault on the paparazzi, DUI, there was that one case where him and his brother were suspects in a murder case, ect ." Hilton reminded him.

"Yeah, that was over five years ago."

"Maybe he's just better at not getting himself arrested." Hilton noted.

"Well, Laurel says he's not that guy anymore." Lance argued.

"Yeah, a leopard and his spots, you know? He lives on his own now. Maybe pushing drugs at his new club is a way of maintaining his old paycheck." He offered.

"Yeah, or maybe going after my daughter's only male friend, the same guy who used to pine after her and who she wanted to be with before Laurel fell for Oliver, is a great way to get my daughter to stop speaking to me again, Hilt." Lance said dryly.

"Look, Quentin, you know I get that. But here's the thing- on a hunch, I subpoenaed the club's bank accounts this morning. There's ten large missing from their operating expenses." Hilton said as they got up and walked outside to their car.

"You think Queen spent that money on illegal drugs?" Lance asked.

"I think I can't explain how that much money just gets misplaced." He looked at his partner. "Look, I'll take a run at it." Hilton offered. "Keep you out of it."

Lance shook his head. "No. I should do it."

 **Laurel's Apartment**

 **Dinnertime**

Laurel had invited Nathan and Helena over for dinner. Nate didn't want to come without bringing something, so he made an extra large version of his famous homemade Barbeque chicken pizza, Laurel bought enough of her favorite Thai food, Tommy bought the wine, and Helena brought her families secret Lasagna recipe, so it was a bit odd with all the different food, suffice to say, but Nate rolled with it and everyone managed to make it work.

"Oh babe, this is delicious!" Helena squealed in delight, "I didn't know pizza could taste so good."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short. This is lasagna is awesome! I was never really much of a fan, but Helena, you've now made me a fan." Nate said.

"Mm, ya know, this one of the things I missed about your disappearance, man. No one that I know can make pizza like you." Tommy complimented as he chewed on a piece of pizza.

"Well, in your defense, you got a better eye for wine than I do. I'm more of a whiskey, vodka, and beer guy." Nate said, returning the compliment.

"Nate's right babe. You have a very good eye for quality wines." Laurel said as she took a sip of her red wine.

"Thanks baby," Tommy said as they shared a quick kiss.

"Hey, so how's your books series doing?" Laurel asked.

"They're doing pretty well. In the last six months, I've sold about 4 million copies of ' _Chronicles of the Shinobi', 'Makeout Paradise', and 'Loveless'._ In fact, ' _Chronicles of the Shinobi'_ and _'Makeout Paradise'_ have been on the New York Times best sellers list for 10 weeks now. I'm thinking of turning Makeout into a series." Nate said.

"You know, I dropped by the library a week ago, I saw that book and I was like 'Hey, Nathan wrote that?' So I rented it and brought it home. Let me just say, there is a lot of porn in that book." Laurel joked, causing Tommy who was sipping some wine, to do a spit take, which landed on Nathan's face.

Nathan just sat there, wine dripping from his face, before he blinked several times and asked, "Really, Tommy?"

Tommy at least had the decency to look sheepish. "Sorry man," He apologized.

Nathan wiped his face off and spoke to Laurel, "It's not porn in a book. Yes there is smut, there also action, adventure, romance, ect. All the things that make a great fantasy novel."

"So Tommy, how's your new job?" Helena asked.

"It's actually pretty good. I always thought working for my dad would suck but it turns out I'm actually pretty good at it. I was a little apprehensive about starting out at a higher position but it all works out. Especially since Laurel and I can actually see each other every night." Tommy said as he smiled at Laurel, who smiled back.

They were interrupted when someone knocked on the door. Laurel answered a knock at the door, and was surprised to see her father. "What brings you by?" she asked, letting him in.

Tommy walked into the room, holding a plate of food. "Hey, would you like some dinner?" he offered. "Nate and Helena brought over too much food."

"No, thanks." Lance shifted, uncomfortable. "This is a business visit, actually. I got some follow up questions for Queen on the Sparks' girl's death."

"Sure." Tommy said, and then he turned to Laurel to explain. "The girl was in the club before she got run-over."

"Hey Nate, it's my dad. He wants to talk with you." Laurel called and Nathan walked out.

"Detective," Nathan greeted politely.

"The girl from the club. You said you didn't know her, but, um, but the last text off her phone was to you." Lance pressed on.

Nate's brow furrowed. "Really?" he turned on his phone and looked through the text history. "Because, uh…" he paused as he saw Veronica Sparks picture with a text reading _'Can you hook me up?'_ "Well, I'll be damned." He muttered, lifting up the phone and showing it to Lance. "Huh. Well, I didn't reply. I get at least 20 texts like that every night." He explained. "People wanting to get into the club."

"So that's what she meant by, _'Can you hook me up'_?" Lance asked.

Nathan adopted a slightly more defensive stance. "What else would it be about?"

Quentin took a breath. "$10,000 is missing from your club's bank accounts." He said. "What'd you spend the money on?"

"What business is it of yours what my club's operating expenses are? What? Got a problem with nightclubs now?" Nathan asked sarcastically.

Laurel walked over in concern as Lance continued the questioning. "Ok, let me put this another way- if you spent that money on illegal drugs so that you could 'hook up' your clientele—"

"Dad!" Laurel exclaimed in disbelief.

"- then the best thing for you right now is to stop it, ok?" Lance finished. "Get out in front of this."

"Don't say anything." Laurel said at once.

Quentin looked at her in resignation. "I am trying to—"

"To do your job?" she finished. "Yeah, I know. And this is me doing mine."

"Laurel, I know I look like the disapproving father-again." He tried. "But I came down here so another cop wouldn't. You understand?" he looked at the two helplessly, then turned and walked out. Laurel turned to her friend/ former lover. "Nate, I—"

"I'm okay. Let's just forget that ever happened and go back to having fun." He said, walking back to sit down.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan was seated in front of a crate in the fuselage, watching as Shado filled a bowl up with water._

 _"Hold your hand up." She instructed him. "Palm facing me." He did so, and she stood across from him. She nodded at the bowl. "Hit the water." She instructed._

 _Nathan looked at her in confusion. "Uh, what?"_

 _She indicated the bowl. "Hit it."_

 _He did so._

 _"Again."_

 _He did so._

 _"Again. Harder!"_

 _"If the point of this exercise is to make me look like I'm mentally challenged, it's working pretty well." Nathan said crossly._

 _She sat down. "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." She said with tone displaying wisdom._

 _"Confucius, great." He rolled his eyes, but hit the water again. "I'm starting to see the family resemblance."_

 _"Laozi, actually." She corrected. "Again."_

 _He did so, and now the bowl was empty. "Now what?" he asked._

 _"Fill the bowl. Start again." She said, making him give her an annoyed look._

 **Flashback End**

 **Verdant**

 **Next Night**

Quentin Lance got out of his car and walked up to the loading dock, where Nathan was overseeing a delivery.

"Here to ask for my help again, Mr. Lance?" Nathan said dryly as he checked items off of his list.

"Eric Messner?" Lance said.

Nathan gave an annoyed look at Lance as he looked up from his clipboard for a moment, and then he took a breath. "What about him?"

"He's a zoning commissioner for Starling City." Lance said. "A notoriously corrupt one, at that. The missing ten grand- you paid it to him to skip the inspection of your nightclub." He looked at the younger man. "Why'd you do that, Queen?" he asked. "What didn't you want him to find?"

"I've got nothing to hide here." He replied, getting up to walk away.

"Great. Then let's just take a little look around." Lance said, walking towards the entrance.

"Absolutely." Nathan agreed, turning around to finally look at the cop. "When you come back with a fucking warrant."

Lance froze in his tracks, then turned and walked back to Nathan. "Are you sure this is how you want to play this?" he asked.

"You tell me. I've been extremely lenient with you, but if you think for one fucking second that I'm going to let you bully me, you've got another thing coming. You want search my property? Come back with a warrant that says you can. " Nathan replied.

Lance stared at him hard. "The friends my daughter keeps." He scoffed. Lance walked off, and Nathan closed his eyes and took a calming breath.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan was still seated behind his bowl as Shado did a handstand in front of him. She held herself perfectly still, and her legs were folded in the lotus position._

 _Nathan stared at her for several minutes before he spoke._

 _"My mom does yoga." He said._

 _She smirked slightly. "Hey, remember when Slade and I rescued you?" he started._

 _She looked at him sharply with a raised eyebrow. "You rescued me?" she said._

 _Nathan sighed. "Fine. When we all rescued each other. You said you knew why Fyers wanted Yao Fei, and how he was forcing him to help." He reminded her. "Feel like sharing? We're almost out of slapping water." He added dryly._

 _Shado slowly straightened her legs, and then bent backwards, allowing her feet to lie flat on the floor. She stood gracefully and took a cleansing breath before turning back to Nathan._

 _"My father was a Shangjiang in the People's Liberation Army." She started. She walked over and picked up a canteen for a drink of water. "A general. I didn't hear the details of Fyers plans, but he wants my father to be the face of it. A scapegoat. To take the blame and conceal their own involvement." She took a sip of water._

 _"Why was Yao Fei on the island in the first place?" Nathan asked softly. "Fyers says he murdered people but given that he lies easier than breathing, I'm disinclined to believe anything he says."_

 _She turned to face him. "No, he didn't." she said. "The Chinese military committed the massacre." She explained further. "Someone had to take the blame. They chose him. Sent him to this island for life." She sighed. "I spent years looking for him." She continued. She walked over and picked up the pail of water, then refilled the bowl. "A few months ago, a man came to my apartment. Said he had information about my father's whereabouts. At that point, I was beginning to give up hope." She sighed again. "Let my guard down. Didn't see the Taser until…" she trialed off. "When I woke up, I was here." Shado knelt before him. "I'm worried." She admitted. "This island… what he must have had to do to survive. That it changed him."_

 _Nathan gave her a reassuring smile. "He saved my life more than once. He's still a good man, Shado." He told her._

 _Shadow smiled in return, and then indicated the bowl. "Again."_

 _He hit the water._

 **Flashback End**

Tommy was sitting at the bar, finishing up some work for his dad on his laptop whilst nursing a beer, when he heard a familiar voice.

"So there I am sitting at our favorite Sushi restaurant, a bottle of Saki, and the only thing that's missing is my boyfriend."

Tommy closed his eyes in frustration, and then turned to face Laurel. "My God, I'm so sorry, baby." He let out a frustrated sigh. "I just have a lot of work to finish up before the week is out."

Laurel laid a hand on his arm. "Tommy, whatever's going on with you, I want you to know I believe you. I'm here for you." The two kissed. They broke apart just as Nathan bounded down the stairs form his executive office and tried to sneak past them.

"Sorry." He told them.

Laurel looked at him in concern. "Nate. What's wrong?" she asked.

"Bad night."

That was when Lance, with several more cops behind him, walked in. "It's about to get worse." He walked up to Nate and handed him a piece of paper. "Mr. Queen, as requested, a warrant to search these premises."

Laurel snatched the warrant from Nate and stared accusingly at her father. "I can't believe you're doing this." She said, and then started reading the warrant.

"Believe it." He said coldly.

"Detective, I'm not an attorney, but on what grounds are you searching my friends club?" Tommy asked.

"Your friend bribed a government official to keep him from inspecting the entirety of your building." Lance said.

"What?" Tommy asked, shocked.

"Because he's selling illegal drugs out of the club." Lance continued.

"Nate, it's valid." Laurel said.

"Thank you." Quentin said. He started walking towards the back of the club. "A sub level is not listed on the inspection's floor plans. However, I pulled the county records. There's something down there. I want to see for myself what it is." He stopped as he saw the door to the basement.

"Oh, look at that." He turned to Nathan. "Open the door."

"I recommend you rethink what you are doing, detective. You're making a big mistake." Nathan said harshly with a glare. Laurel and Tommy felt uncomfortable watching the Detective and their friend butt heads.

"No." Lance replied, getting in Nathan's face. "You are. If you don't open that door." Nathan the two glared at each other, neither one giving an inch. "I said, open the door." Finally, Nathan put in his code and the door opened.

"Thank you." Lance said, walking through the door and down the steps. Nathan followed right behind. The line of men and one woman walked down the stairs into the darkened basement. When he reached the ground, Nate calmly walked over to the power box and flipped the lever, illuminating-

Furniture. Crates. Pallets of wine. Everything you would expect to find in the storage area of a club- and not an arrow in sight.

"The place is still a bit of a mess." Nate said casually. "I've been using it to store the bulk of my clubs inventory."

"What's in the boxes?" Lance asked.

"Why don't you have a look?" Nate offered. Lance opened a box and pulled out- a bottle of Jim Bean.

"Well, if prohibition were still in effect, you might actually have a basis of a criminal complaint." Laurel noted dryly.

"Would you like to open the rest of the crates?" Nathan asked.

Lance opened another, and brought out a bottle of wine. His brow furrowed in confusion, he turned and looked at Nathan, who stood there glaring, arms crossed. "So if you don't have anything to hide… why didn't you want the inspector down here?" he asked.

"Well, the ventilation system hadn't been updated when the commissioner came by. I didn't get it updated til last week, and by then, he had already come by." Nate stated. "Next order of business is fixing up a grounds level storage area."

Lance looked around, and then gave him a look. "Yeah."

Lance made to leave with the rest of his crew, but Nate stopped him. "What now?" the angry cop asked.

"Just wanted to give you a heads up, Detective." Nate said as he fixed Quentin's tie, "Now, I've remarkably lenient with you and your unprofessionalism, for me anyway, considering I loved one of your daughters and the other I'm still good friends with. But, I would think that after all that court mandated therapy and that humiliation I dealt you concerning me being the vigilante, you would have wizened up about messing with me."

"I guess you didn't learn your lesson. And that's not my fault." He shrugged, "I just wanted let you know- this was strike 3." Nathan said, shocking Quentin, Tommy, and Laurel. "Enjoy being a detective while you still can. I'm suing your ass."

A short time later, after Quentin and the cops had all left, Tommy led Laurel went up to Nathan's executive office, who was nursing a small glass of Four Roses Bourbon.

"Hey guys," Nathan said, "Sorry you had to see that."

"Did you really bribe a government official Nate?" Tommy asked.

"Only to skip the inspection. Eric Messner likes to come much earlier than he is supposed to, so business owners have no choice but to bribe him to skip parts of an inspection. And yes I took the money out of my clubs operating expenses, but I used some of my trust fund money to replace the funds I used. I sent over the papers to prove it, an hour before the cops showed up."

"Are you really going to sue my dad, Nate?" Laurel asked.

"I am, Laurel." Nathan sighed as he took a sip of his alcohol, "He did this to spite me, just like everything he does. Laurel, I have given your father chance after chance, because I care about you, and also, it was a way to make up for not being able to protect Sara. But your father has taken this as an excuse to carry out his vendetta against my brother on me. When I told him to back off tonight, that was his last chance. I will always miss Sara, but I have more than payed my penance for failing her. And it's time everyone learned that."

Laurel and Tommy left after that while Nathan's mind traveled back in time to 5 years ago.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan was still slapping water well into the night when Slade walked in, a pair of rabbits on a string in his hand._

 _"Dinner." He announced. He looked at Nathan in amusement. "You're still doing that? Fyers better be careful with his bowls of water."_

 _Nathan sighed in annoyance. "When are we going to do actual training?" he asked._

 _"There once was a young boy whose father dropped him off at a shaolin monastery to study Kung Fu." Shado began._

 _Nathan sighed and dropped his head into his hands. "Great, a parable."_

 _"After a year, the boy came to visit his family." She continued, sharpening her knife as she talked. "When they asked what he'd learned, the boy hung his head in shame. All the monks had him do was slap water in a barrel for a year."_

 _"Well, we don't have a year." Slade said. "So I hope your training regimen is a bit faster."_

 _Undeterred, Shado continued. "The family didn't believe him, so he showed them. He raised his hand and hit the table they were eating on. "It broke in half."_

 _"I'm gonna be able to break a table?" Nathan asked sarcastically._

 _"Better." She said. She rose and grabbed her bow, then walked back to Nathan and handed it to him._

 _Nathan sighed. "Ok." He said, rising to take the bow._

 _"Draw the bow." She said. She corrected his posture, and then stepped back. Nathan sighed- then drew the bow properly with seemingly no effort._

 _Slade chuckled. "I'll be damned." He said._

" _He already had the strength needed to pull the string, his muscles just needed to be conditioned for it." Shado explained._

 _Nathan redrew the bow several times, each without effort, before relaxing the string, and then looked back as Shado. "What's next?" he asked earnestly._

 _"We teach you to shoot." She said._

 **Flashback End**

 **Verdant**

 **1 am in the morning**

Nathan was finishing his drink when he got a ring from Talia. "Hey beautiful, what's up?" He asked.

"I thought I'd let you know, my agents managed to get what I needed from Unidac Industries. The Devices are one week away from completion and they have a list of everyone involved. Also, they found out where Mr. Steele is being held. I just sent you coordinates." Nathan looked at his computer to see the coordinates she had sent him.

"Alright, first we get Walter back. Then we destroy both those devices and kill everyone involved with the project, and finally put Merlyn down. Please have your Shadows ready to move at a moment's notice."

"They'll be ready…Oh, before it slips my mind, Beloved, you might want to talk to Lyla. Especially since she's currently drinking herself into a stupor at your club." She mentions.

"What?" Nathan asks in disbelief, and looks out the window to see Lyla was still there, drinking, and everyone else had left, "Yeah, I see. I'll take care of it."

Nathan created a clone real quick. "Go, save Walter," He ordered. The clone nodded and slipped out to grab his stuff while Nathan walked downstairs to Lyla.

"You know I gotta close up the club, right?" Nate asked rhetorically. Lyla just continued to drink her drink, which meant something was definitely bothering her.

"Hey, whats the matter, Lyla?" He asked out of concern for her as he sat next to her.

For several more moments, Lyla just sat there with a blank expression on her face. Finally she spoke. "It's my anniversary." She muttered.

"What?" Nathan asked.

"It's been five years now since Johnny and I first divorced. And in that time, I have not been able to find anyone remotely worth my time because my job as Waller's 2nd in command. So here's to my misery," Lyla said bitterly as she finished her drink, the alcohol lowering her inhibitions, as she basically never spoke about this.

"I mean what is wrong with me!? Johnny and I, we—we were great together. We worked so well while we were in the military, but then we move state-side and our marriage has problems, he would rather divorce me, than try to fight to make it work like I did. And no-one seems remotely interested in me at Argus because I'm basically their boss. And then, after 4 years of being divorced, I finally find this amazing guy but he's already taken. Am I just doomed to be alone forever?" Lyla said as a few tears rolled down her cheek.

Nathan sat there in stunned silence. He had _NEVER_ seen Lyla act like this before. Looking back on it, Lyla had always seemed a bit cross over how her marriage ended, but to see the strong, independent, intelligent, and beautiful woman crying over her loneliness, made Nate realize just how much her divorce hurt her and how much pain she was bottling up inside that strong exterior.

He slowly reached his hand around her neck and rubbed her shoulder affectionately, before he slowly pulled her into a hug and Lyla rests her head on his shoulder for about a minute as the tears fall from her eyes. "Oh Lyla," Nate whispered affectionately as he rubbed her shoulders, "you are an amazing woman. You're strong, kind, intelligent, independent, a total badass, and you have a good heart. Trust me, any guy would be lucky to have you. If they don't fight to hold to you, then screw them. They're not worth the time."

"And Lyla, you're not just a good person and friend to me. You're an inspiration to me." The drunk Lyla looked up at him in astonishment, "Lyla, when I first came back to Starling City, I was only interested in going after the people on the List. I was a just a vigilante, a man trying to right his old man's wrongs. I didn't care about helping the little guy. But you showed me that I can't forget the little guy, because I'm not just doing this to avenge my father, I'm doing this to make sure no else suffers what I went through."

Nathan pulled away a little so she could look at him, "Like I've been trying to say, you will find the right guy eventually. And when you do, that is when you will find real happiness."

"And what if I've already found him?" Lyla asked him, staring into his eyes, a look in her eyes that he had seen many times before.

"Then I think," Nate said slowly and sincerely, "That he would make sure you were loved, and never want for anything."

There was a silence for a moment before Lyla cupped Nathan's cheek and kissed him full on lips. The kiss lasted for several seconds before she pulled back to catch her breath. They both began to kiss each other with equal passion and lust as Lyla wrapped her arms around his neck and Nate squeezed Lyla's ass.

Thankfully, before anything more could happen, he pulled away to see Lyla's hurt expression. "Don't you want me?" She demanded.

"Of course I do," Nathan said softly, "But Lyla, you're drunk right now. If we continued, I would just be taking advantage of you, and I'm not going to do that to you. When you're ready, I'll be here waiting," Nathan said as he pressed one of her pressure points, causing her to fall unconscious as he took her home.

 **3 hours later**

 **Bludhaven**

A lone cargo plane flew over the city of Bludhaven. As it flew over the apartment complex, it dropped its lone piece of cargo.

The Arrow parachuted out of the plane and landed gently on the roof. He quickly cut away his chute. He slid down the access stairs feet first, stabbing the room guard through the chest and tossing the corpse over the railing and to the ground several stories below before opening the door and walking in.

In the security room, a guard was posted watching the monitors. Suddenly he saw the Arrow fighting with several men. "There's a problem in quadrant 4." He announced over the radio.

The Arrow stalked down the narrow hall, his mood darker than the night. Guards soon appeared one after the other- looked like street thugs to Nathan's trained eyes, but they still knew how to fight.

Unfortunately they didn't fight as well as The Arrow.

One by one he killed them, most with his twin swords. A few he threw shuriken at but none of them could stop him. The last guard grabbed him in a choke, but Nathan expertly spun out of it, punched him twice in the chest, and then rammed his head into a light fixture. He rammed his head into the wall two more times as the man fell, insuring he was out of the fight. He looked back at the 20 odd men he had just killed, and then made his way onward.

Soon he found himself outside a heavy iron door. It was bolted shut, but not locked, and Nathan ripped the door of it's hinges and looked inside. Walter lay there, huddled on his side on a thin mattress on the floor.

For a moment Nathan feared he was dead, but then saw the body move slightly and he realized Walter was just asleep. He activated his voice changer and called out to the man. **"Mr. Steele."** He said softly. When he didn't stir, he added a bit more forcefully, **"Walter."**

Walter jumped slightly as he came back to awareness. He rolled over and saw the vigilante standing in the open doorway. "What?" he asked in a raspy voice. "What's happening?"

 **"You're going home."** Nathan said softly, his face hidden in the shadow of his hood and his face mask.

 **Hospital**

 **Next Day**

Nathan had one of Talia's Shadows call the appropriate authorities, and the police arrived shortly thereafter. The Arrow stayed nearby but out of sight as a young patrol officer escorted Walter's gurney out to a waiting ambulance. The officer looked up, and for a moment Nathan could have sworn the man was looking right at him. But the gaze shifted around, and soon the officer climbed into the ambulance to get Walter's statement on the way to the hospital.

Walter didn't stay in Bludhaven long. As soon as the doctors cleared him, he was airlifted back to Starling General Hospital, where a tearful Moira found him the next morning.

"I thought I'd never see you again." She said, crying as she ran into his room and hugged him. Thea and Nathan followed her in.

"I'm all right." He assured his wife.

"Welcome home, Walter." Nathan said kindly.

Walter looked at him, and suddenly things became a bit clearer. But now wasn't the time for such things. "Thank you, son." He said warmly. Nathan smiled.

Walter looked up and saw the last remaining female crying next to him. "Thea." He said happily. She sobbed and collapsed into his arms, crying happy tears for once.

"Nathan." Moira held out her hand, beckoning him over. "We're all together again. Everything's gonna be all right." She said. Nathan looked at her, barely masking the betrayal in his eyes.

 **Flashback**

 _The scene flashed back to five years ago. At Starling City harbor, Robert was preparing to take 'The Queen's Gambit' out with Nathan as Moira looked on worriedly._

 _"Robert, I don't like the idea of this." She said._

 _"It's gonna be ok." Robert assured her._

 _"Yeah, well, how long will you and Nathan be gone?" she asked._

 _"A few weeks. Maybe more, depending on weather—"_

 _"Why can't you just fly to China?" she asked plaintively._

 _He smiled at her. "I think it's better the less you know."_

 _"And why is Nathan with you?" Moira asked in worry._

 _"Nate wants to relax a little more before he starts at the company, and he volunteered to come with me. I certainly didn't want to turn him down." Robert said._

 _"I just hate that stupid boat." She admitted._

 _"Look at me." Robert said, and she did so. "I love you. Everything's gonna be fine." He assured her._

 _She nodded. "I know." She said, hugging him._

 _"Hey." They looked up to see Oliver as he dropped his bag on the dock next to them "Got room for one more?" he asked pleasantly._

 _"No." Moira said at once._

 _"Mom, let me keep dad company."_

 _"Oliver, you're in school." She said._

 _"Not really." He said. His parents looked at each other and sighed. "I forgot to tell you that." He added lamely._

 _"I could use an extra hand on the ship." Robert said._

 _"Robert—"_

 _"Moira, let the kid take the boat out with the old man." He said with a grin._

 _She sighed. "All right. All right." She said finally. She looked to Ollie. "But you promise me that you'll behave yourself." She said sternly._

 _"Oh yeah. I promise." He lied. She knew it._

 _"I love you so much." She said hugging him._

 _"I love you, too." The two hugged. The sound of a car door slamming made Ollie look up, and he saw Laurel standing at the end of the entrance ramp to the dock. He pulled away with a smile._

 _"I totally spaced." He said. "I gotta call Tommy and let him know I'm out of town for a few weeks. I'll see you on board in 5." He told his dad. He walked off towards Laurel while pulling out his phone. He dialed a familiar number as he smiled at his girlfriend. "Sara?" he said when his girlfriend's sister picked up. "You here? Yeah, you might want to circle around the block a few times, because your sister just showed up." He hung up the phone just as Laurel reached him. "Hi." He said with a smile. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss. "What are you doing here?" he asked_

 _"You're leaving for 3 weeks." She said._

 _"I wanted to come say bye to you in person."_

 _They kissed. "I'm glad you did." Ollie lied as he pulled away._

 _"And I wanted to bring you something." She said with a smile. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wallet-sized version of her senior picture. He took it with a happy "Oh." She smiled at his reaction. "In case you get lonely at sea." She said._

 _Ollie kissed the picture. "Thank you." He said._

 _"Hey, is everything ok?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, I didn't totally freak you out when I brought up the whole apartment thing earlier, did I?"_

 _"No." he lied with a smile._

 _"Good." She said._

 _"No." he grinned. The two kissed for a bit before Ollie pulled away. "Mm. But I do have to get back to the boat." He said._

 _"Yeah." She sighed. Neither noticed that Nathan glaring at Oliver in the distance from the boat, as he knew what was going on between his big brother and Sara, and he hated. She watched as Ollie walked back to the boat, Nathan quickly schooling his expression and then turned and headed for her car. She didn't notice the other car that was parked in the lot above- a car containing Frank Chen._

 _'Is it done?' Malcolm asked him over the phone._

 _"Yes. The bomb is in place." Frank replied dutifully. "And there's a storm front moving in along the 'Gambit's' projected course."_

 _'Good.' He said. 'When the 'Queen's Gambit' goes down, no one will suspect it's anything other than an act of God.'_

 _In the harbor, Moira watched as the boat sailed off into history, unknowing of the fate Malcolm had decided for it._

 **Flashback End**

Back in the present, Nathan left Walter's room to get some air and put some distance between himself and his mother. Outside, though, he found someone he hated.

"Nathan." Malcolm Merlyn said, walking briskly towards the younger man. Nathan gritted his teeth, and then plastered a tired smile on his face as he turned to face the man. "What a miracle. How's Walter? The police are saying that he was rescued by the Vigilante." Malcolm said.

"Yes, he was." Nathan replied softly.

"Has he said anything about his ordeal? Was he able to identify any of his captors?" Malcolm asked casually, fishing for information.

"No." Nathan said.

"Hmm. That's too bad." Malcolm noted.

"They'll get what's coming to them." Nathan remarked.

Malcolm looked at him curiously. "I'm just glad that my family is back together." He continued.

"We all are." Malcolm replied.

The awkwardness was broken by Nathan's phone. He saw it was text from Lyla. ' _OSTRANDER HOTEL. ROOM 1141. NOW'._ Thinking Lyla might be in trouble, he excused himself from his family using his business as an excuse, though promising he would be back later.

 **Ostrander Hotel Room 1141**

 **30 minutes later**

Nathan got to the hotel and walked up to the room. Seeing none behind, he pulled out his .45 caliber 1911 pistol and knocked on the door. A second later, it opened to reveal Lyla, in a pink lingerie nightgown and robe.

"What took you so long?" she asked coyly.

"I think what I should asking is, ' _What is all this?'_." Nate said as he holstered his gun and walked inside while Lyla closed the door. He noticed a few glasses of champagne in the expensive hotel. "Isn't it a little early for champagne?"

"Not for me," Lyla said as she let the robe fall to the floor and walked to him, sexily swaying her hips, "And not for you either."

"Lyla, are you sure, 'cause it was only last night you told me how you felt, and you were a bit drunk," Nathan pointed out.

"But still sober to enough to remember everything that was said," Lyla said as she kissed his neck, "And I'm done denying my feelings for you."

"mm, but are you sure I'm what you want? Because you know about the 3 other women in my life," Nate said, wanting to make sure this was what she wanted.

"Nathan, I'm a grown woman who knows what she wants. And as for your harem, well, I'll figure out how to get used to it." She said as she kissed his neck again.

 **Lemon**

Nathan picked her up and held Lyla suspended in the air by her ass as he carried her over to the bed. Placing her on the bed, he quickly took off all of his clothes. A now nude Nathan joined Lyla on the bed as she grasped his erection in her left hand.

Lyla maneuvered the two of them into a 69 position. Slowly, Lyla began to lick Nathan's cock from base to tip till her saliva coated the thick shaft. Delivering a kiss to the head, Lyla slid her lips over the head and started to inch her way down the impossibly thick shaft. She was able to take all 10 inches before she had to draw back, as Nathan moaned, rubbing her back.

"I may be five years out of practice, but I still can give you a good time." Lyla said before taking the head back into her mouth, and started to suck on the 10 inches of prime male meat, while fondling his balls with her right.

Placing his right hand on the Lyla's bobbing head, Nathan just laid back and let her work his cock between her succulent lips while greatly enjoying the loving way she sucked on his mighty spear. Moving his hand from Lyla's head to her ass, Nathan pushed her panties aside and lightly caressed Lyla's wet pussy before sticking his tongue in and began to lick the special agents sacred place. Popping Nathan's cock out of her mouth, Lyla and released a moan of pleasure from Nathan's tongue licking her needy cunt.

Lyla continued sucking his cock while caressing her breasts as Nathan tongue-fucked her "oohhhh, Nathan that feels so good."

Nathan twirled his tongue against the interior walls of her vagina for several minutes, and continued to devour Lyla' cunt, making her moan in lust. Lyla could no longer concentrate on sucking Nathan's cock due to the pleasure he was bringing her with his tongue and he could tell she was on the brink of her orgasm.

"I'm...ah! I'm...I'm about to-" Nathan sucked on his clip and immediately her eyes widened "Cumming!" Lyla yelled as she came.

Nathan licked her juices up, tasting how sweet she tasted. He slipped out from under Lyla and position himself behind her as he pulled her panties off and tossed them aside.

"Prepare yourself Lyla." Lining himself up and grasping Lyla's hips tightly Nathan began to slowly push into her pussy stuffing an inch in at a time. Nathan was able to drive all ten inches into Lyla's tight cunt causing her to moan loudly.

Nathan started to gently thrust in and out of Lyla, driving all ten inches into her. Speeding up his thrusts to a moderate pace, Nathan tried to control himself and not just fuck Lyla into next week. After five minutes, Lyla's head shot up and she started quivering as she started to cum for the second time in years, that didn't involve using her fingers or some toy. As Lyla's pussy started to convulse around his dick Nathan couldn't take it any longer, reaching underneath her, Nathan took off her nightgown and bra, then firmly grabbed Lyla's tits and started to fuck her a faster and harder pace.

Lyla's eyes rolled up into her head as she experienced another orgasm before coming down from the previous one, the new intense way Nathan was fucking her was nearly too much.

Nathan pulled her up til her back was against his chest, the new angle sending Lyla into another orgasm. Lyla wrapped her arms back around Nathan's neck to try and steady herself against Nathan's powerful and quicker thrusts, the supersoldier continued to fuck Lyla for more than half an hour forcing her through one orgasm after another before he felt his own drawing near. Wrapping his arms around Lyla just below her now bouncing breasts Nathan tried to hold off cumming until he fucked Lyla into another orgasm.

"Cum for me Lyla, I want your pussy milking my cock again." Giving Lyla a particularly hard thrust, he sent her into one last orgasm her pussy clamping tightly on Nathan's cock. Feeling Lyla cum, Nathan finally let go and buried his dick in her and unleashed the load he'd barely been holding back right into her.

"Oh yes Nathan, cum in my pussy, empty those big balls into me. So fucking good." Lyla cooed

Lyla's head fell back onto Nathan's shoulder as the man pumped his load into her with sharp small thrusts, and when he stopped cumming, Nathan fell back, taking Lyla with him so he was lying on the bed with her resting on top of him. The two exhausted lovers laid there for a few moments.

"I hope you don't have any plans today. Because I plan on do this for the rest of the day." Nathan said kissing Lyla cheek as she smiled

"I don't." Lyla panted kissing Nathan's lips before she turned herself around and straddled him, slipping Nathan's hardened cock back into her.

 **Chapter Finished**

 **Apologies about taking so long. I've been jumping all over the place with this chapter. Should be about 2 more chapters before S1 is finished. Will take awhile though, because I have big papers coming up this month.**


	18. Chapter 18 - Calm before the Storm

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(Obviously, eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth 0 Laurel Lance (eventually)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Alena**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Lena Luthor, Dinah Drake, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller(maybe, I don't know), McKenna Hall**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Earth 2 Laurel Lance**

 **AN: Some of you have expressed disappointment at my decision to put carrie Cutter in the not happening area. I will admit I'm still flip flopping on her.**

 **For those of you who keep posting who you want to see in the harem 100 times in a single message, stop doing that. Saying it once is enough.**

 **Chapter 18: The Calm before the Storm**

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan was walking towards the fuselage, staring at the picture of Laurel. He slipped it into his pocket as he entered the plane._

 _"Rescuing your father and stopping Fyers is not going to be some walk in the park." Slade was telling Shado. "They're not going to allow us to just stroll on into their camp."_

 _"Which is why we'll need cover." She noted._

 _Slade gave her a look. "If both of us are infiltrating, who'll provide that?" he asked._

 _Shado nodded towards Nathan. "He will." She decided. Slade laughed and Nathan was just stunned._

 _"Me?" he said._

 _"The assault rifle is flushed. It's useless." Slade said._

 _"We have a bow, arrows." She replied._

 _"And no one capable of shooting them." He looked over to Nathan. "No offense, kid."_

 _"Oh none taken. I was actually going to say the same thing." Nathan said._

" _I think we should be spending our time trying to devise a plan, not lower our already slim chances of survival."_

 _"He'll hit his mark by sundown." She told the mercenary. "If not, we'll do it your way." She grabbed the bow and some arrows and walked over to Nathan. Wordlessly she held out her hand. After a moment's hesitation, he took it._

 **Flashback End**

 **CNRI**

 **A day after last chapter**

Laurel was hard at work on her computer when Nathan walked up. "Hi." He said, drawing her attention.

She briefly glanced up at him. "Did you get my voicemail?" she asked.

"No."

"I know we were supposed to hang out but things got a little crazy around here- back to back meetings." She told him. "I am so sorry, rain check?" she asked.

"Sure." He said. He paused. Nathan thought about something for moment, "Look, this isn't cause I'm sueing your dad, right?"

"No, it's not," Laurel said, "I admit I'm a bit miffed about it, but after really thinking it through, your right. My dad has been given plenty of chances to clean up his act and he refuses to do so. He's made his bed, and now he gets to lie in it."

They were stopped at the entrance, were a family of three were standing.

"I'm sorry, are we early?" the man said.

"No, not at all." Laurel realized Nathan was still standing next to her. "Uh, Nathan, this is Eric Moore and his wife, Nancy." She introduced. "I'm prepping them for a deposition for tomorrow."

Nathan nodded politely, and then smiled slyly as he pointed to the young child standing behind his parents. "And this must be your bodyguard." He joked.

"This is our son, Taylor." Nancy said.

Nathan smiled at them all. "Well, you are in very capable hands." He told them. "It was nice to meet you." He nodded at Laurel, then left. He turned a corner and made a show of pulling out his phone while listening in on Laurel.

"Eric, Nancy, I want to make sure that you guys are up for this." Laurel began. "Edward Rasmus isn't known for playing with kid gloves, so this could get rough."

"We invested our entire life savings with Rasmus and he stole it." Eric said. "Our retirement. Taylor's college fund. He stole our future, Ms. Lance." He said. "We want it back."

"Well, then let's go get it." Laurel said, leading them to her desk.

' _Rasmus? Last time I checked, he was on the List. Oh Laurel, why do you always go after the big fish?'_ Nathan sighed in annoyance.

 **Eric Moor's Apartment**

 **Night**

Late that night, there was a knock on the door of Eric Moor's apartment. He approached the door cautiously. "Hello?" he called out.

"Mr. Moore?" Eric could see the blurry figure of a man through the frosted glass. "I have some documents for you from Ms. Lance related to tomorrow's deposition." He said. Eric opened the door and let the man in. He was a tall black man, well dressed in a tailored suit, carrying a leather briefcase.

He looked around in approval. "What a nice home you have here." He complimented. He held the case in one hand and opened, then reached inside. "You can really… feel the love." The man picked up his silenced pistol and fired twice through the lid, killing Eric Moore instantly.

Mr. Blank closed the lid on the case, and then dropped it to the floor. He stepped over Eric's cooling body and started neatly tipping things over, then swiped several items off of a side table.

"Sorry about the mess." He said to no one. "This works better if it looks like a break-in." He walked cautiously through the house, looking for the rest of the family. He saw Nancy coming out of her son's room and shot her. She fell to the ground, dead, as Taylor stared in horror.

The kid looked up to see Mr. Blank staring at him, so he did the only thing he could do- he closed his door and locked it. Mr. Blank smirked. He tried the knob and saw that it was locked, but one well-placed kick broke the door open. He calmly walked into the room- but Taylor had climbed out of his window. He walked over quickly and threw back the drapes, looking around- but Taylor was gone.

Mr. Blank's phone rang, and he answered it.

"Is it done?" Edward Rasmus asked over the phone.

"The parents, yes." Blank said. "I'm afraid there's been a variable. The child got away."

Rasmus tensed. "Got away? Did he see you?" he asked.

"No, Mr. Rasmus." Blank said pleasantly. "What he saw was the face of the man who will reunite him with his parents." He then hung up and calmly made his way out of the apartment.

 **Nathan's Loft**

 **Next Morning**

Nathan was just getting out of the shower in his loft when he caught the morning news.

'Starling City is expected to be host of this year's Festival of Lights exhibition. In other news, the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Moore were found early this morning. The couple were being represented by attorney Laurel Lance of CNRI in a lawsuit against financier Edward Rasmus." He stared at the screen with narrowed eyes. "Miraculously, their seven-year-old son Taylor survived the horrific attack."

 **SCPD**

Laurel was in the squad room, waiting on her father as Tommy consoled her.

"This isn't your fault, Laurel, you shouldn't feel guilty." He told her.

"I don't feel guilty." She said. "I'm angry. This wasn't some random break-in. Edward Rasmus is involved, I know it."

Lance walked up to them after talking to the people in Robbery/Homicide. "Ok, listen, our guys are looking into this." He told his daughter. "But you need to stay out of it, ok? Because if Rasmus is behind this, he's clearly not messing around."

The social worker walked over with Taylor in tow. "Uh… If you'd like to say good-bye to Taylor, I will be taking him over to child services." She told them.

"Doesn't he have any other family?" Laurel asked.

"Grandparents are in Melbourne." She said. "We're tracking them down, but until then, he's going to be a temporary ward of the state."

Her response was almost instantaneous. "He can stay with me." She declared, to Tommy's surprise and Quentin's dread. "As his attorney, I am assigning myself temporary guardianship."

"You'd still need a judge's order." The social worker said uncertainly.

"I'll have it to you in an hour." She replied at once.

The worker shrugged. "Well, have it your way." She said, handing Taylor off to Laurel and walking off.

Quentin sighed. "Ok, look, I'm going to park a patrol car outside your place." He told his daughter.

"Fine." She agreed at once.

"And you," he turned to Tommy. "You look after them, all right?"

"I spend most nights at your daughter's anyways." Tommy said without thinking.

Lance gave him a look. "There was probably a better time to tell you that." He amended.

Quentin shook his head. "Probably not." He said as he walked off.

Laurel knelt down in front of Taylor. "Hey, you're gonna come stay in my house, ok?" she told him.

Tommy had looked up and saw Nathan entering the station. Leaving Laurel to talk to the boy, he walked over to his best friend, "Hey Nate."

"Hey Tommy," Nathan greeted his friend, "I heard what happened on the news. How's the kid?"

"Traumatized? Won't talk? I mean, how do you deal with seeing your parents murdered at such a young age? Anyway, he's gonna stay with us until Laurel's done suing Rasmus."

"Edward Rasmus? You know I love Laurel, but why does she always go after the big fish?" Nathan sighed in exasperation.

"I feel the same way but you know how stubborn she can be." Tommy agreed just as Laurel walked up.

"It's settled." She said. "Taylor's coming home with us tonight."

"Well look, if you guys need anything—" Nathan started, but Tommy cut him off.

"We'll let you know." He said in appreciation.

"Ok." Nathan agreed.

"We should really get going." Tommy said. Laurel took Taylor's hand, and the three walked off. Nathan watched them leave with narrowed eyes. He was definitely going to have to watch them tonight.

 **Flashback**

 _Shado was now teaching Nathan how to shoot the bow._

 _"Set your sight." She instructed. "Hit the tree."_

 _Nathan fired, and the arrow whizzed off into the forest, lost. He sighed in frustration. "Probably hit_ _ **a**_ _tree." He said sarcastically._

 _Shado handed him another arrow. "Set your sight. Hit the tree." She repeated. Nathan nocked the arrow and drew back the string. Shado placed her palm on his chest. "Steady your anchor point." She instructed. He turned to look at her, and they stared at each other for several seconds. Finally he turned away, and aimed the arrow at the tree._

 _"I hope you're getting closer," Nathan let the string go slack as the two turned to see Slade standing there. "At teaching him how to be a better marksman." He finished with a glare. "It's not as though our lives depend on it or anything."_

 _Slade stalked off, and the two both took a breath. "Try again." She instructed._

 _"Ok." He agreed, pulling back the string…_

 **Flashback End**

 **Lair**

Talia, Helena, Chien and Lyla were all in the Lair, while Nathan was taking out his frustration on a training dummy, hitting it so fast that his arms appeared to be blurs to the human eye.

"What has you so worked up, Nate?" Chien asked.

"It's Laurel," Nathan said as he punched the dummy so hard it snapped in half, "She just can't resist going after guys that put her in danger."

He walked over to his computer and said, "Two of Laurel's clients were murdered last night. Their seven-year-old son barely escaped with his life."

"That's awful" Helena noted.

"Edward Rasmus, the financial advisor Laurel was taking to court, may not have pulled the trigger, but he most likely called in the hit." Nathan continued. He looked at Lyla. "I want you to get into his corporate accounts, phone records, anything that may link him to the killer, ok?" she nodded in agreement, and he went over and grabbed his Arrow jacket.

"Where are you going?" Lyla asked.

"Laurel's."

"Beloved what are doing?" Talia asked him, causing him to look at her, "Did you forget the fact that Unidac Industries have only a few more days before they are done with seismic generators?"

Nathan sighed and put his stuff down, "No", he said, "I didn't forget, I just—I don't always think straight when it comes to Lance sisters."

Nate created a clone. "Take him with you. Helena, Chien, I'd like you to go as well."

Helena and Chien nodded as they both really wanted to see Talia in action, so they each gave him a quick kiss, "We love you, Nate."

"I love you both too," he whispered in their ears. After they left, he grabbed his Arrow gear and headed out, as his clone was wearing his Prometheus gear.

 **Laurel's apartment**

Taylor was seated on the couch, he head down and his hands pressed between his knees.

"Taylor? Sweetheart?" Laurel walked over to Taylor and laid a soft hand on his shoulder. "Are you hungry?" she asked. "You know, I make the world's best macaroni and cheese. It's the only thing I know how to make." She joked, trying to make him smile.

"I miss my mom and dad." Taylor said softly.

Laurel looked over to Tommy, who looked at the boy sadly, knowing exactly what he was going through. He walked around the couch and knelt in front of him.

"When I was your age, my mom tucked me into bed at night before going out." Tommy began. "Then the next thing I knew, there was a police officer at my door. He said that she was gone and that I would never see her again. But you know what?" he asked rhetorically. "He was wrong."

"You saw her?" Taylor asked hopefully as Laurel watched on in interest.

"Mh-mmm." Tommy said. "Every time I close my eyes, I can see her. Every time I go to bed, I see her in my dreams."

"Really?" he asked. Laurel smiled softly at the sight.

"Yeah. Now try it, close your eyes." Tommy told him.

Taylor closes his eyes and bowed his head. He was silent for several seconds, and then he looked back up at the older man. "I see them." He said.

Tommy smiled warmly at the boy. "Whenever you are sad, or scared, just remember that they will always be there." He told Taylor as a tear ran down the boy's cheek.

Laurel smiled at her boyfriend. "You constantly surprise me, Merlyn." She said. He looked up at her and smiled.

There was a knock at the door. "I'll get it." Laurel said. She and Tommy both rose to answer the door.

"Ms. Lance?" Mr. Blank said from behind the door. "Lieutenant Kessel, SCPD." He held his silenced gun up to the peephole. "Your dad asked me to check in."

Laurel approached the door cautiously. "Lieutenant, can you hold your badge up to the door, please?" she asked. She risked a glance through the peephole, and saw a gold badge being held up. She read the badge number and paled. "Ok, great." She said shakily, backing away from the door. "Just one sec."

Tommy noted her panic. "What?" he asked.

"His badge number begins with a zero, Lieutenant's badge numbers begin with a one—"

Suddenly a hail of bullets burst through the door. Laurel and Tommy split up- she headed for her bedroom closet, Tommy ran over to Taylor and grabbed him, pulling them both down to the floor just as Mr. Blank burst in. He urged Taylor to be silent as Blank looked around cautiously. He walked slowly through the apartment, stopping when he thought he heard a noise. He turned and looked into the living room, then raised his pistol and opened fire, shooting up the couch and table in front of it. Tommy and Taylor remained silent, watching the man's feet as they slowly moved towards them. Tommy put a hand gently over Taylor's mouth.

"It was the badge that gave me away, right?" Blank guessed.

"You know, my father's a cop." Laurel's voice called out. Blank spun and fired in the general direction, only hitting the wall. Then Laurel swung out of her room, the pump action shotgun she had had hidden in her closet out and pointed at Mr. Blank. She fired, just missing the assassin who managed to duck out of the way. "And that's not all he taught me." She said, pumping the shotgun. She pulled the trigger- and got nothing. Empty.

Mr. Blank swung back around; aiming his gun at Laurel's stunned face.

Then suddenly a window exploded as The Arrow dove through it. He landed in a crouch and quickly fired an arrow, disarming the assassin. A shocked Laurel backed off as Mr. Blank ran back into the apartment, ducking around a corner just as The Arrow fired another arrow, which narrowly missed. Mr. Blank drew another pistol and leaned around the edge of the doorway, firing at the vigilante who ducked behind Laurel's desk. Blank kept firing at the desk as he ran past and jumped out of the window, escaping into the night. Nathan stood, looking around just as Tommy looked over the back of the couch. The two stared at each other in silence for several moments before The Arrow turned and ran off.

 **A short while later**

A short while later, Lance stood in his daughter's trashed apartment, staring at the broken window. "I'm feeling like it might be time for you to move." He deadpanned.

"Dad, whoever Rasmus hired is going to keep coming until he finishes the job, otherwise Rasmus will just hire someone else who will." Laurel stated bluntly.

"Ok, listen, I want the three of you in protective custody immediately, and don't even think about it." He pointed to Laurel, who for once wasn't arguing. "He killed two of my men."

"The Arrow just saved our lives." She pointed out. "We can trust him. He won't let anything happen to me." Tommy looked away at that. He didn't like admitting it it, but she was right.

"Even if I was comfortable with the idea of him watching over you 24/7, which I'm not, something tells me he's got better things to do." Lance pointed out.

"What about Nathan?" Tommy said suddenly.

Detective Lance looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry, you got another friend named Nathan?" he asked sarcastically.

"The Queens have more security than the President." Tommy pointed out. "They've got cameras everywhere, bodyguards in every wing, and no one goes in or out without being accounted for. We both only want what is best for Laurel." He told the man. "And right now that is to stay close to Nathan. Trust me."

 **Queen Manor**

 **Next Morning**

The next morning Laurel, Tommy and Taylor arrived at Queen Manor, where they were greeted by Nathan, Moira and Lyla, along with another security guard.

"This is Mr. Robbins." Lyla introduced the guard. "Where you go, he goes. You'll be very well protected, Ms. Lance."

"Thank you." She said.

"I hand-selected these men myself." Lyla continued. "The house and the grounds are completely secure."

"Please make yourself at home." Moira said. She leaned down to look at the boy. "You must be Taylor." She said kindly. "How about I show you where I hide the good cookies? Ok?" Taylor nodded and took her hand, and allowed himself to be led off.

"Mr. Queen, whenever you're ready, I can take you to your next appointment, sir." Lyla told Nathan, who looked confused. "That liquor donor meeting?" she reminded him.

"Oh right." Nathan said in realization. "I just need to swing by the club and pick up my good suit." He said. "So, I'll meet you there."

"Of course, sir." Lyla said, heading out the door.

"You're leaving?" Tommy asked.

"There's something else I need to take care of. Club stuff." Nathan said. "It's important."

"More important than what's going on here?"

"No offense to Nathan, but I think we need Mr. Robbins and his men more than him." Laurel said. Nathan nodded in agreement, and Laurel moved off to find Taylor.

 **The Lair**

 **30 minutes later**

Nathan walked in to his lair to find Lyla on his computer as it beeped. "What's that?" Lyla asked, looking at one of Nate's screens as something popped up.

"I had a remote access trojan scouring the Internet for Edward Rasmus." he said, turning his attention to the new info. "His name just popped up on a flight manifest… 8:15 to Shanghai."

"He's running." Lyla stated.

Nathan got his Arrow gear on and headed out, "No, he's not."

 **Flashback**

 _Shado was still trying to get him to shoot straight._

 _"Try again." She instructed. He did so, and missed._

 _"You're thinking too much." She decided._

 _Nathan smirked at her. "Nobody ever accused me of that before." He said._

 _She grinned back, taking the bow. She had two arrows stuck in the ground, and she spun around quickly taking one of the arrow, notching it, and firing in, separating a branch from a tree. She grabbed the other arrow and knelt down, firing again, splitting the falling branch. It had taken her less than five second._

 _"Show-off." Nathan said good-naturedly._

 _"I see my target in the distance, I feel the variation in the wind, I hear the bowstring tighten… and I let go." She explained softly. "Give in to your senses." She said as they stood closer. "Don't think."_

 _Nathan leaned down and kissed her._

 _She reciprocated, and they spent a few moments enjoying each other's presence. Suddenly though, Nathan pulled back, instantly ashamed of himself. Shado was ashamed and embarrassed as well._

 _"You're right, this is definitively not the time or place—" she started._

 _"No, it's," Nathan sighed. "No, it's not that, not really. You're probably going to want to sit down for this." Nathan said and they both sat on a nearby log._

" _What's eating me up is something entirely different," Nathan said, as he leaned forward with his hands folded, "but for you to understand it, I'm gonna have to go back to the beginning."_

" _So, me and my brother, we were the son's and heirs of this multi-billion dollar company based out of our hometown, Starling City. But being the scions of really rich parents doesn't afford a lot of friends. So, one day, when I was 12 and I was with my dad at the mall, I met this pair of sisters. The eldest was Laurel and the younger one was Sara. After about an hour of playing and talking we became friends. I introduced them to Oliver, my big brother by one year, and Tommy, his friend, and we all became one tight-knit group of friends."_

" _But I was always a bit closer to the Lance sisters. When me and Oliver were 15, we lost our grandfather Gregory, who we called Gigi. He was a great grandpa, and he saw us, not as the heirs to the Queen Family, but as just Oliver and Nathan. So when he died, we became self-centered jackasses, who drank, partied and fucked away our pain."_

" _Honestly I was amazed Laurel and Sara stayed friends with me, Oliver, and Tommy. Anyway, I got a little better when I was a junior in highschool. I had several relationships that didn't last, and then went off to MIT for study business administration at 17, and came out with a Masters in 4 years, because I was taking classes full time even in the summer and I had started taking classes when I was still in highschool."_

" _During the last 2 years, Oliver and Laurel dated. Now, the thing is, I had always been in love with both sisters, but Sara was my closest friend and while I did love her, I was afraid of losing that friendship, so I never pursued her, and when I was ready to confess to Laurel, I found out she was in a relationship with Oliver. Oliver, when he was with Laurel, was the happiest I had seen him since Gigi died, so I let them be, leaving me between a rock and hard place where the sisters were concerned."_

" _About a year before I shipwrecked here, I noticed that Oliver and Laurel were really getting serious. Laurel was talking about moving in with Oliver somewhere in the city, but Oliver…he didn't do serious. And he started doing everything her could to hurt Laurel or dissuade her. When the drugs, partying and alcohol didn't work, he started cheating on her behind her back. I know he cheated with at least several women, the last one he ended up getting pregnant, but she ended up losing the baby."_

" _I grew to hate my brother after what he did. So, in some stupid revenge scheme, I slept with Laurel." At Shado's slightly disgusted look, he bowed his head further in shame as he took out the photo of Laurel and showed it to Shado, "I wanted him to pay for what he did, as I felt he didn't deserve her, but I never told him despite how much I wanted to rub it in his face, because Laurel made me promise. She still loved the idiot and wanted to repair her relationship with him."_

" _If all this is true, then why do you have a photo of this Laurel?" Shado asked._

" _Because I took it from my brother after I discovered his latest escapade." Nathan explained._

 _ **Flashback within Flashback**_

 _Nathan counting the thunder in his room on the yacht when he opened his eyes and walked outside looking at the storm that was raging "I've got a bad felling about this." he said to himself walking inside to see his dad and Oliver talking "You know, son that is not going to end well, for either of them or for you."_

 _"He'll figure it out on his own." Nate said getting their attention._

 _"What jealous?" Oliver smirked, which made Nathan get in his face._

 _"Of what!? The fact that you just ruined the relationship between two sisters, who are my oldest friends, or the fact that the only woman who ever loved you is going to tear you a new asshole right before she dumps your worthless ass, which I can't wait to watch!" He said causing Oliver to frown at his slightly more muscular brother._

 _"Boys, boys, please." Robert said causing them to look at him_

 _"We should head back dad, I got a terrible feeling about this storm and I'm done with his bullshit." Nate said._

 _"You said that when we came on board." Oliver replied as Nate looked at his dad with a frown._

 _"Relax, we are heading back now." Robert said causing him to nod his head as Robert walked off._

 _"You're such a pussy." Oliver said to his little brother, which made Nathan grab Oliver by the scruff of his shirt and pin him against the wall of the boat, before punching Oliver in the face several times._

 _"The only reason this pussy isn't beating you to a pulp is because dad's on board. All you are is a worthless playboy whose only saving grace is the fact that he was born into money." He searched his brothers pockets until he found the photo of Laurel and took it from him. "She loves your worthless ass, for some ridiculous reason that I can't fathom, and I will never forgive you for what you've done to her. As far as I'm concerned, you're better off dead!" He retorted, walking away from a glaring Oliver who scoffed and walked back to Sara._

 _ **Flashback within Flashback End**_

" _And that was the last thing I ever said to him, because the next time I saw him, he had a pipe sticking out of his chest", Nathan said, a tear falling down his cheek. Shado, despite her mild disgust at his past actions, felt for him, as she rubbed his shoulder._

 _ **Flashback within Flashback**_

 _"Aah!"_

 _Nate sprung up at the feminine scream and ran outside to see everyone running, as a red emergency light flashed repeatedly. Sprinting down the hallway he opened the door to see a pipe had fallen through Oliver's room and ran him through while Sara was on the ground sobbing._

 _"Sara! Come on, the ship is going down."_

 _'"Ollie, he's dead!" Sara sobbed_

 _"Sara, if we don't move we will be too, now come on!" Nate said just as the ship turned over causing him to fall over onto the wall and Sara fell through a window and water flooded the room, "Sara!"_

 _He swam up to Oliver's body and closed his eyes looking at him sadly before he swam up breaching the surface "Sara! Sara!" he shouted looking around._

 _"Nathan! Nate!" Robert yelled in a lifeboat causing Nate to turn around and swim over and get in before he saw Sara wasn't inside._

 _"Sara!" Nathan turned and shouted about to jump back in to save his friend but Robert grabbed him "No! No! No, dad, she's out there!"_

 _"She's not there." Robert yelled crying himself knowing that Oliver was dead._

 _"Sara!" Nathan yelled looking at the yacht as it went down._

 _"They're gone." Robert said sadly._

 _ **Flashback within Flashback End**_

 _Nathan sat back and sighed as he stared at his right palm. "You probably think I'm better off dead too, don't you?" He asked Shado._

" _No, I do not," Shado stated firmly as she made him look her in the eye, "While I may express disgust at your former actions, I can see by your genuine shame that you truly regret them. That, despite the loss of your brother, your father, and your friend, that you are becoming a better person."_

 _Nathan looked back at his hand and said to himself, "A better person." He closed his hand into a fist and continued talking, "I wish I could say the same. Since I've gotten here, I have killed no less than 5 people in the name of survival. I don't know what I'm becoming. But I know this," He said as he got up and grabbed the bow, "If I ever get off this Island and make it home, then for my mothers, my sisters, and Laurel's sake, I'm gonna do right by them." He said as he took another shot at the tree._

 **Flashback End**

 **Queen Manor**

Laurel was in the sitting room, looking through old photo albums. Moira walked in and glanced down at the picture with a smile.

"You looked so beautiful that night." She observed. She took a seat next to the lawyer. "I remember Oliver telling me once that he wished your father would let him come over to your house more often." She said to Laurel's surprise. "That being there made him feel less like Robert Queen's son and more like himself. I liked who my eldest son was when he was around you." She admitted.

"Thank you." Laurel said with a smile.

"Hey." Nathan said as he came into the room. "The police just called. Edward Rasmus was arrested."

"Really?" Laurel asked. "What happened?"

"Apparently he confessed to everything." Nathan said. "He's going to go to prison for the rest of his life and won't be able to hurt anyone ever again."

"Why would he confess?" she wondered.

Nathan let out a satisfied sigh. "Apparently the Arrow paid him a visit." He said.

"Good for him." Tommy said as he walked into the room.

"So, I guess it's over." Laurel said.

"Yes." Tommy said quickly. "Great, I'll go wake up Taylor—"

"No, Tommy, please." Moira interrupted. "He's sleeping; he's been through a lot. Now you all are welcome to stay. We certainly have more than enough room." She pointed out lightly.

Tommy looked to Laurel with a smile. "It's your call." He told her.

Laurel considered for a few seconds, and then smiled at the Queen matriarch. "Thank you, Mrs. Queen." She said. "I guess we'll stay, then." She announced.

 **SCPD**

 **Same Time**

Rasmus sat in an interrogation room, listening to the thunder crash outside. Suddenly an officer opened the door.

"Your lawyer's here." He announced. He stepped aside, and Mr. Blank walked in. As the officer closed the door, Blank set his briefcase on the table and opened the lid before sitting down.

"It's you." Rasmus said.

"I'd like to discuss loose ends." Mr. Blank began.

"You didn't get my message?" he said quietly. He leaned in. "Forget about the Moore boy. I've already confessed, that freakshow in a hood was gonna do to me what he did to Justin Claybourne if I didn't." he groused.

"We need to make this meeting appear legitimate." Blank said, seemingly oblivious. He pulled some papers out and slid them across. He then pulled out a pen and held it out for Rasmus. "Lawyer stuff. Sign here, please."

"Am I clear? You leave the boy alone." Rasmus hissed. He reached for the pen, but as he grasped it, Blank grabbed his wrist with his other hand.

"I wish I could, but he's seen my face." Mr. Blank said, applying pressure on Rasmus's wrist. "Just like you." He let go, and started putting things back into his case. "If you put pressure in just the right areas above the forearm, like I did to you, an embolism will form in the medial antebrachial vein." He began explaining. "When the air pocket reaches your heart in, give or take, fifteen seconds, you'll die. It's relatively painless." He said, closing his case. He stood. "Oh… nothing personal." He noted pleasantly, then walked to the door as Rasmus sat back, unsure if the man was telling the truth or not. "We're done here!" Blank called out. He was let out of the room and the door was closed behind him. 10 seconds, later, Rasmus fell over dead.

Mr. Blank was walking out just as Thea was walking in. She stopped a patrolman. "Excuse me," she said, gaining his attention. "Hi, I'm looking for my boyfriend; he's kind of a regular around here." She explained. "Piercing blue eyes, red hoodie, and may or may not have stolen a police radio."

The officer smiled at her, then nodded towards Lance's desk. "Yeah, that's him. Behind you." He pointed out.

Thea thank the man, and then walked over to Roy, who looked up at her with a subdued expression. "Well, that's a nice look." She said dryly. "What were you thinking?"

"Well, if it isn't the wonder twins!" Lance said in amusement, walking up to the two.

Thea turned to him. "He's very sorry for stealing the radio," she began as Roy rolled his eyes, "and he won't ever bug you or steal anything from you guys ever again."

Lance gave her a look. "Both of you." He tossed the keys to the cuffs to Roy. "Come with me."

Lance led the two down into the morgue.

"Well, your boyfriend is so interested in the vigilantes; I thought he might like to meet someone else who already made their acquaintance." Lance said, then he pulled open one of the drawers revealing the frozen corpse within. Thea gasped and turned away, a hand over her mouth.

"Oh, God…" she muttered.

Roy had a hard time looking at the body. He looked at Lance instead. "Who was he?" he asked.

"Well, that's the thing." Lance said. "When you're alive, you get a name. When you wind up down here, you get a number." Roy forced himself to look down at the body. "Meet 253." Lance continued. He pulled an arrow out of an evidence bag and placed it back in the hole it had created, causing Thea to blanch and gasp again. Roy closed his eyes briefly, but forced himself to look despite his discomfort. "See, your pals: The Arrow, The Huntress, and their new sidekick Prometheus, they've already sent 253 bodies down here since they started their little war on crime."

"Maybe this guy deserved it." Roy said defensively.

"Maybe he did." Lance conceded. "But that's not how justice works. You see, the vigilantes, they don't have to answer to anyone but themselves, and that's a very dangerous power to give to any one person, let alone 3 people."

"Prometheus saved my life." Roy stated.

Lance pulled the arrow back out. "And how do you know tomorrow he won't just as easily take it?" Lance asked rhetorically. He nodded at the door. "Get out of here."

"Let's go." Thea said, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the door, away from the corpses and death.

 **Queen Manor**

 **Same Time**

Taylor was asleep as the storm raged on outside. Laurel watched him as he slept for a while, then looked up and saw Nathan standing at the door. Quietly she made her way out of the room, and he shut the door behind them.

"He's safe now, Laurel." Nathan said.

"With a hard road ahead of him." Laurel noted.

He smiled tiredly at her. "Well, he's lucky to have you in his life." He told her. "I know the feeling."

Laurel considered him for a moment. "When you first got home, I didn't think that you changed much." She admitted. "But you have, and… it's nice to see."

Nathan smiled. "I'm glad to hear it." He replied, giving her a hug.

From down the hall around a corner, Tommy watched the exchange with a sinking feeling in his gut.

The doorbell suddenly rang. Down in the foyer, Mr. Robbins was headed towards the door. 'I have a delivery van coming in for Ms. Lance,' a man over the radio said, 'his I.D. checks out."

"Thanks for the heads up." Robbins said dryly. He opened the door a bit, and then seeing it was just a teen delivery man, opened the door wider. He stepped back to allow the boy to come in.

"For Ms. Lance." He said nervously. Robbins looked down at the envelope he was carrying, and saw that the kids' hands were shaking. Knowing something was wrong, he reached for his gun-

But was felled by two bullets that Mr. Blank shot through the back of the kid, killing them both.

Mr. Blank calmly walked in. "What a beautiful home." He said. He stepped over the two bodies, looking around. "Hmm… such pain here." He noted. "A sense of loss and regret, you can feel it, down to the wood paneling." He looked down at his watch, counting down. Seconds later, the charge he placed on the fuse box blew, sending the house into darkness.

Upstairs, the sudden blackout startled Nathan and Laurel, who stepped away from each other in confusion. Tommy also made himself known, coming around the corner and looking to Nathan.

"Tommy." He gestured at his former friend, who came over. "Can you two stay here with Taylor?" he ushered them towards Taylor's room.

"Where are you going?" Laurel asked.

"It's an old house, those fuses blow all the time during a storm like this." Nathan lied smoothly. "It's probably nothing, just please… come on."

"Ok." She said. Laurel and Tommy walked into the room, and Nathan shut the door behind them. He then kicked off the doorknob to lock them in before stalking down the hall.

Mr. Blank walked cautiously up the stairs. He paused as a shadow moved, and he moved quickly up, firing several times. One of the security guard's collapsed, still alive but wounded.

In Taylor's room, Tommy and Laurel both heard the whispers of the silenced shots and the body falling. Laurel held a fearful Taylor close. "He's here." She whispered.

"Where's the child?" Mr. Blank asked the fallen guard, pressing the silencer on his gun into the wound on the man's chest. "This house is quite large and I don't particularly care to check every room." The man said nothing. "Very well." Mr. Blank stood. "Have it your way." He fired once more, killing him.

Nathan moved quickly but quietly through the house, searching for the intruder. He paused at an intersection to listen when suddenly lightning flared. He saw a shadow cast out of the corner of his eye, and ducked just before Mr. Blank fired. The rounds hit the wood, and Mr. Blank quickly made to follow.

In Taylor's room Laurel made to go for the door, but was grabbed by Tommy.

"Laurel… Laurel, l don't—" he started to say as she struggled against him.

"No, Nate is still out there." She argued, even though she knew Tommy was right.

Mr. Blank moved across the top hall, heading towards a pair of closed doors. He opened one-

And Nate leapt out at him, kneeing Blank in the face, disarming him and causing him to fall backwards. Blank regained his footing just as Nathan threw a wild hook. He missed and Blank tried to grab Nathan by the torso, but Nate spun Blank around and threw him off before giving Blank a Spartan Kick to the face, breaking his nose and causing him to fall back again. Nathan leapt off of the railing and knocked Blank further backing with a downward right hook. Blank tried to hit his assailant with a roundhouse kick, but Nathan ducked underneath it and delivered a backwards kick that sent Blank tumbling down the stairs.

Nathan jumped down and aimed to cave in Blanks head with a downward punch, but Blank rolled away, causing Nathan to land in a crouch with a punch that cracked the flooring. Nate jumped up using a rail and delivered a roundhouse kick to Mr. Blanks face, causing him to further stumble around a corner. Nathan jumped over the railing again, narrowly avoiding a strike from Mr. Blank. The two traded blows for several moments before Nathan threw a punch, but Blank caught his wrist.

"What happened to you on that island?" he asked, starting to apply the same pressure hold he had used to kill Rasmus.

Nathan stopped him by grasping his hand and breaking it. "You're about to find out." He growled. He then threw Blank over the railing and near the fire, and Blank landed on his back. Nathan front flipped forward and landed in a crouch by the fire place. He held out his hand and a red hot iron fire poker that had been in the fire flew into it. Mr. Blank pulled out his spare gun and pointed it at Nathan but before he could pull the trigger, Nathan expertly disarmed Mr. Blank in flourish of swordplay before slicing his left Achilles tendon, causing Blank to drop to one knee. He then plunged the poker through Blank's heart, the red hot poker cauterizing the wound, killing him instantly.

A short while later the M.E. was zipping Blank's body up in a bag. Lance looked at it with clinical detachment and no small sense of happiness.

"Death by red hot poker." He quipped, looking at Nathan. "That's a new one."

"He was going to shoot me." Nathan said. "And then, uh, Mister Robbins, he grabbed the poker from the fire and saved my life." He lied smoothly, giving the dead guard a worthy honor, as he had rearranged the bodies to make it look convincing.

"Mr. Robbins was a real hero." Tommy said. He was leaning against a pillar next to the staircase. "If it weren't for him, we'd all be dead."

Lance knew bullshit when he smelled it, but in this case he wasn't going to worry about it, especially since this guy was in the process of suing him. Didn't want to throw any more fuel onto the fire. "I've got enough details for my report." He said. "I'll clear my boys out of here. Let's go." He said to his cops. As they left, Nathan walked past Tommy, but turned and saw Laurel walk up the stairs with Taylor.

Tommy noted this. "You still love her. Don't you?" he asked.

Nathan sighed. "It doesn't matter how or what I feel. Because I can't be with her, and I'm happy with Helena." He told him. "You got nothing worry about."

"If only you knew," Dejected, Tommy walked off, leaving a concerned Nathan behind.

 **Laurel's Apartment**

 **Next day**

The next morning at Laurel's apartment, Taylor's grandparents were picking him up. "Thank you for everything you tried to do for Eric and Nancy." The grandmother told Laurel. "And for keeping Taylor safe."

Laurel nodded, sniffling. She knelt in front of Taylor. "Come here." She said, fighting back tears. She gave him a big hug. "You keep being a good boy, ok?" she said tearfully. He nodded, and then she rose and let his grandparents take him away. She was barely holding it together by this point. "Tommy, I really need to talk to you…" she trailed off as she saw Tommy walking out of their room, his bag in one hand and his coat in the other. "What's that for?" she asked, stunned.

"It's my stuff." He said simply.

"What's going on?" she asked fearfully.

"I'm not sure that I'm ready for the kind of commitment that you're looking for." He lied. His own heart was breaking, but he was better at hiding it. Something, he supposed, he got from his father. "I don't want to hurt you in the long run, so—"

"Wait." She said. "We both almost lost our lives, and I'm emotional, too, but you can't be serious."

"This is me serious, Laurel." Tommy said calmly.

"But… but it doesn't make any sense, I mean, why… why now? Why even at all?" she stammered.

"I thought that I wanted this." Tommy explained. "You. And the other night made me realize I don't."

"You're lying." She denied.

"I am not a liar." He denied, eerily calm.

"If you've changed, and I know that you've changed, then you wouldn't- you would never do this." She protested.

"Then I guess I haven't changed as much as we all thought, then." He said, and then walked past her out the door, leaving her to break down alone. In the hall, Tommy finally let his emotions out, even as he walked briskly away from the only woman he had ever truly loved.

 **Stuff\Flashback**

 _A dejected Nathan and Shado walked into the fuselage. Slade sat, sharpening his sword. He looked up, but didn't look at the two._

 _"So how did our Robin Hood do?" he asked. Their silence told him everything he needed to know. "As expected?" he goaded. "So back to the drawing board we go."_

 _Suddenly there was a noise, and the three tensed. Their anxiety turned to surprise as Yao Fei walked stiffly into the plane._

 _"Yao Fei!" Nathan exclaimed loudly._

 _"Ba!" Shado ran up to her father and hugged him, but backed away when he didn't return the gesture._

 _Slade stood slowly. "How did you escape?" he demanded._

 _"Because he didn't. Fyers let you go on purpose, didn't he?" Nathan asked with a hint of betrayal in his voice, having noted Yao Fei's solemn expression. Suddenly, a dozen men armed with AK-47's rushed into the plane to their collective shock._

 _"You son of a bitch!" Slade growled. He made to lunge at Yao Fei, but a soldier smashed the butt if his rifle against Slade's head, sending him to the ground._

 _"Slade!" Nathan protested, kneeling beside the fallen man._

 _Yao Fei looked down at them both. "Your time on this island is at an end." He declared in resignation._

 **Chapter End**

 **Going to try to finish up last chapter for S1, and will then post next chapter for Black Arrow Universe.**

 **So, I think I made Tommy not seem like a jackass. IF not, let me know, I was really tired when I wrote this.**

 **So, as you saw, Tommy is still leaving Laurel, but it is for an entirely different reason than the cannon, which will be revealed in the next chapter.**


	19. Chapter - The Undertaking

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Sara Lance(Obviously, eventually), Lyla(Will join soon), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth 0 Laurel Lance (eventually)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Alena**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Lena Luthor, Dinah Drake, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller(maybe, I don't know), McKenna Hall**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Earth 2 Laurel Lance**

 **AN: After this chapter is posted, I will be taking a break from The Black Arrow to write "A special Gathering: The Black Arrow Universe." Turns out, writing that damn intro chapter is harder than I thought.**

 **Chapter 19: The Undertaking….Or Not**

 **Verdant**

 **Morning**

The club wasn't open, but Laurel was sitting at the bar drinking a cup of coffee.

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, and she walks into mine." Nathan said as he walked in from the back.

"This coffee's terrible, Nathan." Laurel said dully.

"That's what you get for ordering coffee in a bar." He replied with a grin. Then he looked at her in concern. "You don't look so well. Too much work?" he asked.

"Too much crying." She said. Then she dropped the bomb. "Tommy broke up with me."

Nathan stilled. He forced himself to remain calm. "What happened?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"I have no idea." She said. "Things were good. They were… great, and then suddenly he's packing up his things and telling me that it's over." She looked at him in desperation. "Did he say anything to you?" she asked.

"Nothing that made me think he would do this." he said honestly, as he had been certain from their last conversation that Tommy wouldn't do that. "Tommy and I haven't talked as much since he quit." He admitted. "But he'll come around. It's probably just cold feet."

"Like it was with you and Oliver?" Laurel stated bluntly, speaking about that time he was under suspicion of being the vigilante and when Oliver cheated on her. Nathan winced, but Laurel pressed on. "Nathan, you don't push away someone who cares for you unless you're trying to stop a relationship from starting or destroy it."

He nodded in acceptance. "If you still want to be with Tommy, do what you and Oliver should have done. Talk to each other and be honest." He recommended.

After Laurel left, McKenna walked in. "Hey, McKenna. You're back." He said, happy to see his ex girlfriend.

"Yeah, sorry about skipping town like that. I wanted some time off. Went to visit my sister over in Coast City." McKenna apologetically explained.

"Hey, you don't need to apologize. I get it, you missed your sister. Try missing her for 5 years." Nathan said, displaying his understanding.

"But it wasn't just because I wanted to see my sister, I also needed some time to clear my head." McKenna explained as she took a seat and ordered a drink.

"What do you mean?" He said as his bartender served them drinks.

"It's the vigilante. Right before I took a vacation, he came to me, and helped me close one of SCPD's most important unsolved cases, only for that same guy I caught to be killed by the copycat archer. I needed to get away for awhile, because when I helped him, I realized I was slowly starting to agree with him. I had to come to a decision about whether or not I wanted to still be a cop, knowing that I still think he's right."

Nathan sat in silence, absorbing the information McKenna had given him.

 **Merlyn Global**

 **Afternoon**

Laurel walked in to Tommy's office, who's office she had not been in yet, just as two assistants were handing him papers to sign. Despite being dressed impeccably, he looked haggard, and he frowned upon seeing her. The two assistants gathered their things and left.

"Wow, you really look like your father." Laurel said, starting things off. "I never thought so before, but just now I saw him in you."

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"We need to talk." Laurel said.

"I said everything I have to say." He said coldly.

"Well, I haven't." she countered. "Tommy, I love you, and I want to believe you still love me, so whatever problems that you think that we have, I know that if we face them together—"

"You don't understand." Tommy interrupted.

"Then help me understand." She pleaded. "If our relationship is gonna end, at least let it end with honesty."

"Ok, Laurel." Tommy picked up his briefcase and moved to stand in front of her. "Honestly you belong with Nathan."

She was stunned. "Excuse me?"

"He's still in love with you." Tommy said, stunning her further. "I have a meeting." He said, leaving her alone in the office with her thoughts.

 **Verdant**

 **Nighttime**

The people were partying and having fun while Laurel was sitting at the bar all by her lonesome. "Hey." Nathan said. "Are you ok?" he asked concernedly.

"Of course." He looked at her in disbelief as she says that. "I promise you now is not the time."

"It's you and Tommy." He guessed.

"You and me, actually." She remarked. He stared at her curiously. "I talked to Tommy earlier, and the reason he broke up with me is because he thinks that you and I still belong together."

"What did you say?" he asked.

"Nothing." Laurel said. "He walked out on me before I could say anything."

"I just want you to be happy. It's what I've always wanted." Nathan said.

"Then will you please go talk to Tommy for me?" she begged.

"And say what?" Nathan asked.

"Say that you and I are over." She said. "That you're not still in love with me."

Nathan sighed deeply and closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them and spoke. "I can't do that."

"Why not?" she demanded.

"Laurel, I've told a great many lies in my life, but that is one lie I will never tell. Because, just as a part of me will always love and miss Sara, there is a part of me that will always love you." He said, stunning the woman. "I denied my feelings before for Sara and looked at what happened. I resolved after I lost her that I would never again deny or hide how I feel about someone. And if Tommy can't handle that, that is not my problem."

Nathan walked past her, heading up to his office as Laurel stood frozen in her seat.

 **Unidac Industries**

 **Two Hours later**

Two scientists in white coats were walking down the clean, polished floor to the main laboratory. One of the scientists was hoping to get lucky.

"So, I was wondering," the male scientist started, "there's a late night happy hour at Stella's. You know, the place across the street."

"You mean the place that's always playing loud salsa music at all hours when I'm trying to work late?" the female scientist said crossly.

"That-that would be the one, yeah." He replied lamely. "Anyway, I was thinking that, um, maybe, you know, if you wanted to, we could perhaps grab a drink?" he asked nervously a she punched in the code for the door. They passed through decontamination into the main lab.

"How about two?" she called over her shoulder as she took the lead- a lead that stopped when she saw her co-workers dead. "Oh, my God!" She gasped in horror as she saw Prometheus standing over a kneeling Dr. Markov, aiming an arrow at his heart.

"Please. I did everything Mr. Merlyn required of me!" Dr. Markov begged, thinking this guy was working for Malcolm.

" **I know,"** Prometheus said, " **I'm not here on Merlyn's behalf."** He then nodded to the two workers and two shots rang out, the two bullets piercing the workers heads. Behind them, stood China White.

"Freeze!" Two security guards cried out as they appeared, only to be felled by crossbow bolts from Helena.

" **Answer my questions, and I will let you live."** Dr. Markov nodded in fright, " **Good. Now, how many seismic wave generators did you make for Malcolm Merlyn?'**

When the doctor hesitated, he fired an arrow into his knee, causing him to scream in pain, " **You're going to want to answer my questions quickly, Doctor Markov. I'm not in a patient mood."**

"We-We made 3. A prototype and the t-two finished versions." Markov struggled to say.

" **And where are these devices?"** Prometheus asked.

"Th-the two completed projects are right there," Markov shakily pointed. Prometheus turned his head to see the two devices on the middle of the room with some panels open.

" **And where is the prototype?"** Prometheus asked. Markov hesitated and Prometheus fired another arrow. Markov cried out in pain as his other knee had an arrow pierce it. " **WHERE IS IT!?"**

"It was supposed to be shipped out tomorrow! We had it packaged and were going to ship it Mr. Merlyn's home!" He cried out.

" **Thank you for your honesty, Doctor. Now, you may have your reward."** The doctors sigh of relief was cut short when Prometheus aimed another arrow at him.

"You-You said you'd let me go." The doctor pleaded.

" **I lied."** Prometheus as he let the arrow fly, and it struck true, piercing his heart and killing the final member of Merlyn's project. He then placed a small device on the desk and walked towards Talia, who was leaning against one of the two devices, both of which were packed with C4. A second later, the device emitted a shortrange EMP, destroying all evidence of the project, since he had already saved a copy for himself.

" **Alright, let's destroy these fucking things once and for all,"** Nathan said but Talia, with her hood down, placed a hand on his chest, **"What is it Talia?"**

"Beloved, I understand you are excited but may I recommend an alternate course of action? As opposed to simply blowing it up?" Talia said, as Chien, Helena and several of Talia's shadows gathered around.

" **What did you have in mind, Beloved?"** Nathan asked.

"You wouldn't want Al Sah-Her to think this was sabotage. If he did, he might become erractic, unhinged and may try to destroy the Glades anyway with a more radical option. If he thinks it's a freak accident, it would allow you to safely carry out your plan to expose him before we kill him."

" **Mm, that's one of the reasons I love you Talia,"** Nate said as he took his mask off and gave her a steamy hot French Kiss. "You're always thinking outside the box. And you always help me stay on track."

He pulled away from her and pulled his mask back on. " **But let's get that prototype in here first."** Talia gave an order to her Shadows and they swiftly disappeared to find the prototype in the cargo bay.

10 minutes later, they slowly dragged it back in, until Nathan got tired of watching them struggle and lifted the device over his head and placed all three devices on opposite ends of the room.

Everyone then left the building and could be found a few minutes later standing on a building 1 mile away. Nathan had his mask off and was holding a tablet. "Say goodbye to your Undertaking, Merlyn." Nathan said to himself as he pressed a button on the tablet.

Inside the building, the Markov Devices slowly lowered their plates, until they were touching their bases, generating destructive seismic waves.

Outside, the group watched in satisfaction as the building began to break and crumble for a few minutes until it collapsed, crumbling into a pile of rubble.

"Just you wait, Merlyn. You'll be joining that building soon enough." Nathan said to himself.

 **Verdant**

 **Next Morning**

Nathan walked up stairs and was getting ready to head home when he saw Laurel standing in the empty club. "Laurel?" he called out, gaining her attention. "What are you doing here?" he asked, walking over to her. "It's not even 7:00 a.m."

"That's just after closing time, right?" she joked. They both chuckled. "How's business?" she asked.

"Well, it's busy. Busy." He sighed. "It was easier when Tommy was helping run things." He admitted.

"Tommy's a good guy." She said.

"Yeah." Nathan agreed.

"Are you?" she asked suddenly.

He looked at her with a guarded expression. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"Yesterday, I told you that I wanted to get back with Tommy." She said. "That I needed you to go to him and explain to him that you didn't still have feelings for me. But instead, you told me that you did." She reminded him. "As I'm sure you can probably imagine, I haven't been able to think of much since."

"I know now I shouldn't have said that." Nathan said at once.

"Then why did you?" Laurel asked.

"I did not have an agenda." He said. "I did not intend to make it more difficult for you to fix things with Tommy." He moved to leave.

"But what if you did?" she asked, stopping him. He turned back to face her. "After you and Oliver disappeared- with Sara- I wished we had had never met that day in the mall." Laurel stated. "But now, things have happened that I never thought would. You coming home. My parents being in the same room. And you." She looked at him in hope and trepidation. "What if I'm finally starting to see you for who you really are?" she asked.

"No, Laurel, it's—"

"And maybe Tommy was right." She continued, cutting him off. "Maybe he and I weren't meant to be. Maybe I'm finally ready to admit that that I still have feelings for you, too."

"I'm not doing this again, Laurel." He told her harshly. "I inserted myself into your relationship when it was having problems once before, and now my brother and your sister are dead. I may not be denying my feelings for you, but I'm not going to act on them either. Not when Tommy is still in love with you." She looked at him, crestfallen. "I got to go. Walter's been released from the hospital." Nathan tuned and walked out, leaving Laurel alone and heartbroken once again.

 **Queen Manor**

"Everything's exactly as you left it." Moira was saying as she led Walter into the house. Nathan and Thea were on hand to greet him.

"How are you feeling, Walter?" Nathan asked kindly.

"I'm on the mend, thank you, Nathan."

Thea rushed up and hugged him. "Oh, I'm so glad you're home."

"That makes two of us." He quipped.

"All of us." Moira added happily. "We've prepared a delicious brunch for you. All your favorites." She added.

"Oh, yum, English food." Thea joked lightly.

Walter sighed. "Actually, I'm more tired from the drive than I expected." He said. "So I think I'd like to lie down for a bit."

"Yes, of course." Moira told him. Moira leaned in to kiss him on the lips, but he turned his head at the last second and she kissed his cheek instead. He gave her a stained smile and then headed for the bedroom.

Thea looked on in concern, but a buzzing noise got her attention. She pulled out her phone and saw a text from Roy.

:Meet me tonight:

Thea walked over to Nathan. "Walter doesn't really seem like himself." She noted as they watched Walter slowly make his way up the stairs.

"He's gone through a lot." Nathan said. "It's just going to take a little bit of time."

Thea sighed. "I'm really sick of us all having to go through a lot, you know?" she said in frustration before moving off herself, leaving Nathan alone with their mother.

In the sitting room, Moira was watching a news broadcast in dread.

'Unidac Industries reportedly collapsed last night.' The reporter was saying. 'For those of you that don't know, Unidac Industries is a small company that specializes in seismic infringement and it was purchased by Queen Consolidated a few months back. Right now, spokespersons are saying that heightened seismic activity was picked up last night, leading some analysts to suggest that a freak accident occurred. The rubble won't be cleared away for some time yet, but six employees of Unidac Industries are reported missing, including Doctor Brian Markov. More on that when we return.'

Nathan walked briskly into the room just as the news broadcast was winding down. "Mom, we need to talk." He said brusquely, but Moira was too distracted to notice his tone.

"Oh, uh, later, Nathan." She said, hurrying out of the room.

Nathan looked on in frustration, but then the news broadcast caught his eye. He moved closer to the TV to watch.

'-co-workers, parents and families of all the victims to see how they're coping with their loss.' He smiled as everything was going according to plan.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _The scene flashed back to the Island. Slade, Shado and Nathan sat in the back of a truck, their hands bound, as it made its way back to the mercenary camp. They drove in right past the missile launcher, which was now fully operational. The soldiers unloaded them and walked them into the command tent._

 _"Ba!" Shado exclaimed as she saw her dad._

 _"Shado." He replied sadly._

 _"You led Fyers right to us, you coward!" Slade spat, straining against the soldier that held him in place._

 _"Fyers was about to fire bomb the entire forest just to eliminate you." He explained harshly. "This way, you all still have a chance."_

 _"Well, pray I don't get the chance to repay your mercy." Slade said coldly._

 _That was when Fyers walked in, looking inordinately pleased with himself. "How fitting." He said smugly. "Everyone reunited for the end."_

 _"The end of what?" Nathan asked, exasperated. "What exactly is all this for?"_

 _Suddenly the radio flared to life._

" _HKIA, this is Ferris Air flight 637 out of Berlin, nonstop to Hong Kong. We are steady on approach at 33,000 feet and winds at 15 knots. ETA, two hours, 15 minutes, over."_

 _The soldier activated his mic. "Ferris 637, this is HKIA. Adjust course to 0.6 degrees south, 11 minutes. Over." He said as the three prisoners looked on in confusion._

" _Roger, HKIA. Why the course change?"_

 _"Nothing to worry about, 637." The soldier replied. "Just looking to make sure you avoid a little turbulence."_

" _Roger that. Adjusting course now."_

 _The soldier switched off the mic and looked back at Fyers. "They're altering course, sir." He told him. "The plane will be in range of Lian Yu in 26 minutes."_

 _"Good. Keep tracking it." Fyers ordered._

 _"That's a commercial airliner, Fyers." Nathan said. "It's not like it can land here."_

 _"It won't be landing anywhere, Mr. Queen." Fyers said coldly. "I'm going to destroy it."_

 _Nathan's eyes widened, then he looked outside at the missile launcher in horror._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Unidac Industries**

 **Morning**

Lance and Hilton were looking over the sight of the destruction. They were trying to figure out what had happened, though Lance suspected sabotage by the Arrow, since they pulled some arrows from the scene, but was keeping the press on lockdown about that particular part.

 **Queen Manor**

Moira was standing alone in the sitting room, staring out the window when Nathan walked in.

"Hey, Mom."

Moira turned around, a bit startled. She sighed when she saw it was Nathan- in dread or relief, he didn't know. "Walter's upstairs resting." She said. "I think he's doing well, don't you?"

"Who took him?" Nathan asked, deciding to stop beating around the bush and go with the direct approach.

"Well, we don't know yet. But I'm going to make sure all the resources of Queen Consolidated are behind it." She replied automatically.

Nathan gave her a tight grin. "That's the answer that you gave to reporter's yesterday." he reminded her softly. "Tell me the truth."

Moira scoffed. "I don't know what you mean."

"You know precisely what I mean." Nathan said. "A couple months ago, when I showed you dad's notebook, you burned it without hesitating because you know something. Something about our family being in danger." He pressed.

She stared at him with a mixture of outrage and fear. "Are you suggesting that I knew something about my husband's kidnapping?" she demanded.

"I'm just suggesting that maybe you were scared." He offered. "That maybe at first you didn't mean for any of this to happen. But it was harder than you thought. And now you're barely staying afloat. Please, Mom." He pleaded gently. "Let me help you before you drown."

"You need to stop asking these things." She said fearfully "Do you understand? I need you to stop."

"I can't. I have to know." He said.

Suddenly the lights flickered, and then died. Moira looked around in confusion. "Is that a power outage?" she asked.

Nathan looked around warily. "I don't know." He said. There was a sound of breaking glass, and then suddenly a dart whizzed through the air and hit Nathan in the neck. He sank to the floor, knocked out by the 'tranquilizer'.

"Nathan!" Moira exclaimed, falling to the floor to check on her son. "Nathan!" Suddenly, she too was hit with a dart. As the world darkened around her, she saw a shadow of a hooded figure on the wall. As she fell back, all she saw was a dark shape approaching her as she lost consciousness.

When she awoke, she found herself bound to a metal chair in what looked to be an old, abandoned warehouse. Directly across from her, bound in a similar fashion, was Nathan.

"Mom!" he exclaimed groggily, still 'coming out from the tranq'.

"Nathan." She slurred.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

She leaned forward, and the bindings made themselves apparent. "Nathan?" she said, more panicked now that full awareness was returning, "How…how are… we got to get out of here."

 **"Moira Queen. You have failed this city."** She looked up, and though her vision was partially obstructed by the heavy work lights that were pointed directly at her, she couldn't mistake the form of The Arrow- the man she had shot months ago.

 **Flashback**

 _"It doesn't make any sense!" Nathan exclaimed. "Why do you want to blow up a plane?"_

 _Fyers stood in front of him. "When the New York Stock Exchange reopened after 9-11, the Dow Jones dropped nearly 685 points." He lectured. "Can you imagine what would happen to China, the world's second largest economy, if all air travel in and out of China were to be grounded indefinitely?"_

 _"You want to destabilize China's economy?" Slade guessed._

 _"It's not what I want, but rather my employer." Fyers said simply. "We have enough missiles here to shoot down any aircraft approaching the mainland." He explained. "And that will decimate China's economy. Especially," he turned to face Yao Fei, "once a rogue element in China's own military claims responsibility." Yao Fei's eyes widened. "You see, inconvenient though you occasionally were, you're always worth more to me alive than dead."_

 _"Then you should have killed me." He said boldly. "Because I won't do it."_

 _"Really?" Fryers asked softly. He turned back to the prisoners, then drew his gun and batted Nathan on the side of the head with the butt of the gun, then shot Slade in the thigh and Shado in the right shoulder._

 _"Ahh!" she screamed in pain as she fell back to the ground._

 _"Shado!" Yao Fei screamed in panic, running over to his wounded daughter. "Shado!"_

 _"I said I need you alive, but I can kill everyone you care about." Fryers said, raising his gun at Shado once more._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Unknown Warehouse**

The Arrow stood next to the bound Nathan. " **This time, Moira Queen, you are going to answer all my questions."** He snarled.

"Please! Do not hurt my son." She pleaded.

 **"Tell me what the Undertaking is and I won't have to."** Arrow said; his voice distorted through the voice changer. Moira hesitated, torn between protecting her son now, and protecting him from Malcom overall. The clone looked down at Nathan, who looked up at him and subtly nodded. The clone hauled off and slugged him.

"No!" Moira cried.

 **"Tell me!"** Arrow yelled, punching Nathan again.

"Please! Leave my son alone!" she begged, tears in her eyes.

 **"What is Malcolm Merlyn planning**?!" The Arrow demanded, still facing Nathan.

"I can't tell you! He'll kill me, he'll kill my family." She cried.

 **"You should be more worried about what I'll do to your son."** The Arrow snarled. He hit Nathan hard in the face, knocking him and the chair over. Nathan coughed and gasped in pain.

"No! Malcolm is planning to level the Glades!" Moira finally admitted. "He said so he could rebuild it, but…"

The Arrow stalked over to Moira, carefully keeping his face hidden. **"How?"** he demanded.

"There's a device."

 **"What device?!"**

"He says that it can cause an earthquake." Moira said.

 **"How is this possible?"** he asked, walking behind her.

"I don't know." Moira said. "It was invented by Unidac Industries. Malcolm used my company's Applied Sciences to turn it into a weapon."

 **"Why would you get involved in something like this?"** The Arrow asked quietly.

"My husband…" Moira said hesitantly as Nathan listened from the floor. "He got involved without my knowing. He was just trying to do some good." She said, more for Nathan's sake than the Hood's. "He was lost. He… his decisions left me vulnerable to Malcolm, and I had no choice. I had to protect my family and my children." She finished, trying to justify her actions.

 **"This device,"** The Arrow started, **"Where is it?"**

"I don't know." She said tearfully.

" **If you don't tell me, I can't stop Merlyn!"** The Arrow said angrily.

Moira scoffed. "Oh, you can't stop him." She spat. "It's too late."

" **You overestimate Malcolm Merlyn, Moira Queen."** The Arrow said, pulling out a recording device and shutting it off, saving the recording, before doing the same to the two video camera's he had hidden in the room. " **I already did stop Merlyn. Or did you not think it odd that Unidac Industries is currently a pile of rubble, merely two days before the devices were supposed to undergo their final test?"**

"What!?" Moria asked in shock, "If you already knew, then why are you doing this?"

" **To get a confession from you."** The Arrow said, holding up the two camera's and waving them around a bit. Prometheus and Huntress stepped out of the shadows, flanking either side of him. " **You have one day to confess your crimes on National Television. If you do not or you try to contact Malcolm during this time, we will air your dirty secrets ourselves and your children will die."** Prometheus pulled out his sword and walked towards Nathan.

Moira's eyes widened in panic. "No, no, no, I told you everything!" she cried. She stilled when The Prometheus cut Nathan's wrist free. He then walked back behind Moira and cut the rope holding her to the chair, allowing it to drop free.

Moira ignored the vigilantes, who were walking away, and hurried over to her son. "Nathan!" she cried.

"No!" Nathan gasped in pain- more emotional than physical, pushing her away.

She looked at him sadly. "Oh, sweet- Please, I know what you must be thinking, sweetheart, but I never intended any of this to happen." He coughed, glaring at her. "You know I would never willingly be a part of anything like this." She pleaded.

Nathan staggered to his feet. "I don't know you anymore." He said wearily, limping out of the warehouse- away from his mother.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Fyers was moments away from shooting Shado again._

 _"Stop!" Yao Fei cried. "I'll do it." He said in resignation._

 _"I knew your good judgment could be counted on." Fyers said, lowering his weapon. "Come along now. We need to get you back into uniform."_

 _Slade started squirming, trying to get back up, and the guards turned their attention on him- as did Fyers who walked over and held his gun at Slade's face, causing him to still. But while everyone was distracted, Yao Fei quickly pulled a small throwing knife from his boot and slipped it into Nathan's hand, much to his surprise. Nathan quickly concealed the small blade in his hands as Yao Fei said something in Chinese to Shado. He helped her sit up, but was then grabbed by two guards and escorted out._

 _Fyers grabbed a satellite phone and headed out as well. He dialed a number from memory. "It's Fyers. It's happening." He said simply._

 _On the other end of the line, a bespectacled man walked into an office. "Understood." He said. He hung up the phone and looked at the woman behind the desk. "That was Fyers. Everything is proceeding to your plan."_

 **Flashback End**

 **Queen Manor**

Moira had made her way tiredly back to the Manor. As she walked in, she heard Walter speaking with someone.

"It truly is very kind of you to come all the way out here." Walter was saying.

Moira walked into the sitting room. "Walter? Who are you speaking to—" she stopped cold when Malcolm Merlyn rose from the other couch and smiled.

"Moira. How are you?" he asked pleasantly.

"Well." The mask came back on with practiced ease. "Thank you."

"Actually, you look a little bit out of sorts." Walter noted.

"Oh, no, no, I'm fine." She said, fixing her hair slightly and smiling at the two men.

"Malcolm stopped by to check up on his nemesis." Moira looked startled at that. "On the racquetball court." Walter finished with a chuckle.

"I didn't get a chance to talk to Walter at the hospital." Malcolm said, still smiling. "Like everyone, I'm glad he's back where he belongs. With his family." He said with a meaningful look at Moira.

"Yes." She said evenly.

"I'll let you get some rest." Malcolm told Walter.

"Thanks again." He said.

"Uh, I'll walk you out." Moira said, leading him towards the door. Once out in the hall, she spoke quietly. "What do you intend to do, Malcolm? The devices were all destroyed in the accident." She noted.

"5 years spent on Unidac, only for my victory to be ripped from me at the last second. You needn't worry Moira, I am in the process of acquiring another means of completing the Undertaking, but it will take 3 days to finish the arrangement and another 2 to deliver it. And it will still limit any potential exposure for us" Malcolm said easily.

"I see. And does paying Walter a visit just now fall under the same category? You held him for nearly six months. Surely you had him questioned." she asked harshly.

"He was." Malcolm said evenly.

"And I assume that if Walter knew something you'd rather he didn't, agreement be damned, I would be a widow again." She said bitterly. "Am I wrong?"

"Rarely." Malcolm said evenly, his face betraying no emotion whatsoever. He let himself out as Moira stood there, horrified.

 **Morning**

The next morning Nathan, dressed in his good suit, walked into the lobby of Merlyn Global Group. He headed over to the security desk and smiled.

"Hi. Nathan Queen." He said needlessly. "I have an 11:30 with Tommy Merlyn."

The security guard took his ID to run a check.

The guard handed Nathan's ID back to him. "You can go on up now, Mr. Queen." He told Nathan

 **Tommy's Office**

Upstairs, Nathan walked into Tommy's office. He found him standing at the windows, looking over some paperwork.

"Sure beats the office at the club." Nathan said.

"I saw your name in my schedule; I thought it must be a typo." Tommy turned and threw the folder down onto his desk. "Why so serious? he asked coldly.

"It's past time we talked." Nathan replied calmly.

"About what?" Tommy asked. "Me leaving the club? We're not lacking for topics."

"Let's start with Laurel, since I know you're still in love with her." Nathan shot back.

"So are you." Tommy countered.

"I am quite happy with my relationship with Helena. Even if I wasn't, I can never be with her, Tommy." he said.

"So what? I'm her consolation prize?" Tommy scoffed. "I'll pass."

"She's not anyone's property." Nathan replied. "Laurel makes her own decisions. And she chose you. Until you couldn't handle it. You became afraid."

"You've started to push everyone away from you. You leaving the club I could have easily chalked up to you wanting to a better job and forging a stronger relationship with Laurel, which it was. But then you stopped talking to me and we slowly stopped hanging out, and then when things are going great with Laurel, you are suddenly doing every little thing you possibly can to push her away. You know, I remember back before the island that we weren't exactly as close as you and Oliver, but now when I look at you, Thomas Merlyn, I see Oliver right before he started cheating on Laurel."

"Do not compare what I'm doing to what Oliver did to her," Tommy said slowly with anger as he shook his finger at his friend , "I may be pushing you both away, but it was **never** because I cheated on her. I would never do that to her."

"Then what the hell are you doing Tommy?! If this is some twisted scheme to get me and Laurel together, you can stop yourself now, it's not happening! I refuse to do to you what I did to Oliver!" Nathan shouted in anger, slipping up.

"What you did to Oliver? What are you talking about?" Tommy asked in confusion, to which Nathan rubbed his head.

"I guess Laurel never told you what happened. When I realized that Oliver was cheating on Laurel with several women and actually got one pregnant, I was so pissed that he would do that to Laurel, and I wanted revenge on him. So I slept with Laurel." Nathan revealed, shocking Tommy to the core as he never knew this.

"God, Nate." Tommy said while he continued.

"And I was going to rub it in his face, all just so I could hurt him the way he hurt her, but she made me swear not to tell him, due to her still being in love with the idiot and wanting to repair her relationship with the fool. But Sara found out. And that's why she was on the boat" Nathan said sadly as he dropped another bomb, shocking Tommy further as he continues, "She was sleeping with Oliver to make me jealous so I would finally admit the feelings we both had for each other but that I was too scared to act on. And finding out really pissed me off, and I beat Oliver to a pulp before telling Oliver he was better off dead. And the next time I saw him, there was a pipe sticking out of his chest, and then Sara fell beneath the waves, drowning."

"So you see," Nathan said as he became chocked with emotion, "Whatever stunt you're pulling isn't going to work, because I have already lost two people that I loved because of my selfishness, and I will never be that guy again."

Tommy stared into Nate's hardened expression for several moments before he sighed and finally relented. He poured Nathan and himself a glass of scotch as he sat at a table for meetings. "You're gonna want to sit down for this." He said as they both sat down.

"Do you remember when I came to you seeking advice when I found out Laurel was working with on of the vigilantes?" Tommy said as he took a drink.

"Yeah, I remember." Nathan said as he took a drink.

"Well, you made this joke about how _'Every time you want to talk to me about something and that something concerns Laurel, you look like you're about to tell me you have testicular cancer'?"_

"Yeah," Nathan said, feeling on edge, "why?"

"Well, after that day and Laurel was safe, I went to the doctor to get a check up to make sure nothing was wrong. Turns out, something was wrong. I have stage 4 prostate cancer." Tommy said, his voiced choked with emotion.

"Thomas," Nathan said, his eyes wide and hand on his mouth.

"The doctor said I only have four months left to live." Tommy said as the emotions he had been keeping locked up burst forth. Nathan put his drink down and embraced Tommy in a brotherly hug.

"I-Its why I broke up with L-Laurel. I didn't want her to s-suffer the pain of being with a man who is-s doomed to die." Tommy cried.

Nathan just sat there, comforting one of his only remaining male friends.

After Tommy finally stopped crying, Nathan pulled away and grasped both of his friends shoulders. "You can't spare us the pain of losing you, Tommy. Whether you told us or not, we would still feel the pain of losing you. But losing you and finding out that you died from cancer and you didn't tell us? That pain would have been ten times worse."

Nathan got up and made to leave, but he stopped and turned his head to look at Tommy behind him. "I will carry the pain and regret over Oliver and Sara for the rest of my life. And that is my burden to bear. Don't let Laurel's pain be your final regret, Tommy." His final words spoken, he left, leaving Tommy to ponder his friends words.

 **Queen Manor**

 **Same time**

Moira was heading up the stairs and ran into Walter as she reached the landing.

"Oh, good." She said pleasantly. "I was just coming to check on you to see if maybe you'd like some tea, or…" Walter handed her a folded set of papers. "What is this?" she asked, finally noticing that he was wearing his coat. She opened the papers, and then paled. "Walter, please." She said shakily. "Divorce is an extreme reaction."

"Well, considering the circumstances, I find it somewhat reserved." Walter said dryly. He began walking down the stairs to the door. "Or do you think I believe that my abduction on the night you told me that I was getting too close to your conspiracy was a coincidence." He added acidly.

"You…you were in danger." Moira said emotionally. "This arrangement, it saved your life."

Walter scoffed. "Well, that's ironic. Because it feels like you've destroyed it."

"Walter—"

"You know, I read about people in forced captivity." Walter continued, making his way to the first floor. "Some of them said it was a simple thought that got them through the isolation and fear," he chuckled, "Returning to their loved ones. So I don't know really why I'm still alive, Moira, because I didn't have that."

Moira held up her hands to stop him "Walter, please—" she tried to plead, openly crying now.

"What do you think you can say to me to convince me that everything I knew, my whole life hasn't just evaporated?" he asked harshly. He approached the door just as Thea walked in.

Instantly she was alert. "Where are you going?" she asked shakily.

"Come here." He whispered. He pulled her into a hug, then pulled back and looked down at her. He gave her a reassuring smile, and then moved past her to walk out. He didn't look at Moira again.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Fyers was setting up the camera to record Yao Fei's 'declaration'. The man in question stood stiffly in front of a grey backdrop to mask the operations behind him. On the floor, still bound sat Slade, Nathan and Shado._

 _"The uniform suits you, Yao Fei." Fyers complemented. "Any time you're ready."_

 _"To the people of China and citizens of the world," Yao Fei began. "I make this statement voluntarily, taking responsibility for the shooting of Ferris Air flight 637 to protest the People's Republic of China's treatment of me; for betraying and abandoning me to the island of Lian Yu." On the floor, Nathan was desperately cutting at the binding on his hands. "Consider this my righteous delivery of powerful vengeance."_

 _Fyers shut off the camera. "Thank you." He said politely._

 _Then he pulled out his gun and shot him in the head._

 _"No!" Nathan screamed._

 _"Ba! Ba!" Shado sobbed._

 _"Sir. Plane is within range." The air traffic officer announced. Fyers smirked at Nathan, who stared back him, his eyes burning with righteous hatred and wrath._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Laurel's Apartment**

 **Evening**

A short while later, Tommy found himself at Laurel's apartment. He knocked, and a few seconds later she answered.

"Hi." He said. "Can we talk? I know I don't deserve it but please" she stepped aside and let him in. "Thank you."

Laurel closed the door and looked at him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked flatly.

Tommy chuckled slightly. "Wow, I thought this was going to be easier to say." He started. "But now I'm standing here… looking at you, and it's—"

"Just say what you have to say and go, ok?" she told him sharply.

"Look, ever since I found out I've got cancer, and I'm going to die in 4 months, I've been trying to spare you and Nathan that pain. But after I talked with Nate earlier, I realized how much of an idiot I was being."

"What are you trying to say?" she asked hopefully, putting aside her shock at hearing he has cancer.

"That, if I've only got so long left to live, I want to spend every last moment with you and I don't want to die with the regret of not telling you how much I love you, Laurel Lance."

She crashed into him then, their lips meeting frantically. As they kissed she quickly unbuttoned his shirt, then hopped up onto him, her legs wrapping around his waist.

"Laurel, I-" "Later." she said breathlessly between kisses. "Right now, I just want you to love me."

Tommy carried her back to her bedroom. He stood next to her bed and held her there for several seconds, enjoying her closeness.

 **Flashback**

 _The scene flashed back to the Island where thousands of feet above, a Ferris Air Line's commercial jet was flying the course it had been given by the air traffic soldier- a course that would take it directly over Lian Yu._

 _"The plane's holding steady at 33,000 feet." The ATS informed Fyers. "That's the range for missile intercept, sir."_

 _"Lock missile one on target." Fyers said._

 _On the ground, Slade noticed Nathan cutting through his bonds. Nathan looked at him, then over at Shado._

 _"Missile one locked on the jet's heat trail." The ATS said._

 _"Prepare to launch on my mark." Fyers replied._

 _"Yes, sir."_

 _Nathan broke free, then jumped up and ran at ATS, yelling. He knocked Fyers aside and jammed the knife into the ATS's jugular, before turning and cutting Shado loose._

 _Her loss and rage numbed the pain in her shoulder as she started beating down the guards in the tent. Slade had leapt up as well, ignoring the pain in his leg and launching himself at Fyers. Another soldier punched Nathan in the face and started to choke him with both hands, while Fyers easily dealt with the wounded and still-bound Slade._

 _Fyers pulled out his radio as he ran from the tent. "Fire! Fire the missile now!" he ordered. Inside, Shado finished off the last guard and ran over to Nathan. She pulled soldier off of him, grabbing the man in a dragon choke. With a simple movement, she broke his neck. Nathan nodded at her and ran out, just in time to see the missile launcher fire._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Lair**

 **Nighttime**

"Her times' up," Nathan said as Talia, Chien, Helena and Lyla stood around, "I gave my mother a chance to confess to her crimes. But she has failed, as she has for 5 years, to take initiative and do the right thing."

"Lyla, please send out the video to every IP address. I want this video on every television, computer and phone." Nathan said tiredly. Lyla pulled up a chair and sent the video. The 4 women gave Nathan a group hug.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this Nate," Helena apologized.

"We know that it can't be easy for you." Chien said.

"Now's not the time. Time for mourning is later." Nathan said as they all pulled apart.

"Tal's, you got that League Smoke, by chance?" Nathan asked.

"I do beloved. Why?" Talia asked.

"I got an idea about how to draw Malcolm out." Nathan said.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _The scene changed back to the island as Nathan watched the missile fly off towards the plane. He moved towards the launcher, but fell back as the soldiers opened fire. Shado was already there, knocking out one guard and climbing onto the launcher as it began to move._

 _Slade came out of the command bunker, an Ak-47 in his hands and began firing. He looked at Nathan. "Go kid!" he yelled, laying down covering fire as Nathan bolted for the launcher. He jumped on the back just as Shado knocked another solder down. She knelt down and opened up an access port, pulling out the motherboard. She started working, looking up to see Nathan._

 _"We need to reprogram the missile!" she said._

 _"I don't know how to reprogram a god damn missile launcher!" he exclaimed._

 _Shado pulled out the circuit board. "I do." She worked frantically._

 _Suddenly the guard she had knocked down got back up and pulled out his pistol "Watch out!" he cried._

 _Shado grabbed his gun arm and yanked him forward, bouncing his face off the launcher and disarming him. She quickly aimed and fired, shooting the driver in the head. The man slumped forward, jamming the control levers forward and the launcher began to roll. The guard Shado disarmed grabbed her from behind, and the two struggled, falling off the launcher in the process._

 _"Nathan, put the chip in." she yelled as she continued to fight. Nathan rounded the launchers, but was immediately set upon by another soldier. They fought briefly, with Nathan struggling mightily before he managed to throw the other man off. Nathan looked up and saw the missile nearing the plane, then back down at the launcher. He yank open the access panel once more and grabbed the command chip, jamming it home. The small screen noted 'Target Modification Confirmed'. He looked up to see the missile radically change course, now heading for Fyer's camp._

 _He pulled the dead driver off of the stick, stopping the launcher, and then leapt off. He took cover behind the corner of the launcher and watched as the missile slammed into the camp. The explosion was enormous, enhanced by all of the munitions' that were now cooking off. He sat down relieved, exhausted, and fearful- what of Slade? What of Shado?_

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Video**

" **Good evening, Starling City,"** came the voice of the Arrow as his face appeared on every video screen in the city, " **I imagine many you don't know who I am. Many of you think I am an urban legend. A being that only exists to scare criminals into behaving. Some even believe me to be a villain. But thing is true. I am The Arrow."**

Many of the people watching now with trepidation. " **I am appearing before you now because I have a message for everyone living in the Glades. Your lives are in mortal danger. Many years ago, a mans wife was murdered in the Glades. Ever since then, he has blamed everyone in the Glades for her death, and has made the conditions of your livelihoods worse in order to validate his own evil agenda: To destroy the Glades and kill every single soul living in it."**

" **But you don't need to take my word for it,"** The Arrow moved aside in the video and gestured behind him, " **Take the word of his greatest co-conspirator, Moira Queen."**

 **Video**

 _She leaned forward, and the bindings made themselves apparent. "Nathan?" she said, more panicked now that full awareness was returning, "How…how are… we got to get out of here."_

 _ **"Moira Queen. You have failed this city."**_ _She looked up, and though her vision was partially obstructed by the heavy work lights that were pointed directly at her, she couldn't mistake the form of The Arrow- the man she had shot months ago._

 _The Arrow stood next to the bound Nathan. "_ _ **This time, Moira Queen, you are going to answer all my questions."**_ _He snarled._

 _"Please! Do not hurt my son." She pleaded._

 _ **"Tell me what the Undertaking is and I won't have to."**_ _Arrow said; his voice distorted through the voice changer. Moira hesitated, torn between protecting her son now, and protecting him from Malcom overall. The clone looked down at Nathan, who looked up at him and subtly nodded. The clone hauled off and slugged him._

 _"No!" Moira cried._

 _ **"Tell me!"**_ _Arrow yelled, punching Nathan again._

 _"Please! Leave my son alone!" she begged, tears in her eyes._

 _ **"What is Malcolm Merlyn planning**_ _?!" The Arrow demanded, still facing Nathan._

 _"I can't tell you! He'll kill me, he'll kill my family." She cried._

 _ **"You should be more worried about what I will do to your son."**_ _The Arrow snarled. He hit Nathan hard in the face, knocking him and the chair over. Nathan coughed and gasped in pain._

 _ **Merlyn Global**_

At Merlyn Global, Malcolm was watching the broadcast on his laptop. ' _"No! Malcolm is planning to level the Glades!" Moira finally admitted. "He said so he could rebuild it, but…"_

"No!" he screamed in rage, slamming the lid of the computer and punching his desk, shattering the glass.

 **Video**

 _The Arrow stalked over to Moira, carefully keeping his face hidden._ _ **"How?"**_ _he demanded._

 _"There's a device."_

 _ **"What device?!"**_

 _"He says that it can cause an earthquake." Moira said._

 _ **"How is this possible?"**_ _he asked, walking behind her._

 _"I don't know." Moira said. "It was invented by Unidac Industries. Malcolm used my company's Applied Sciences to turn it into a weapon."_

 _ **"Why would you get involved in something like this?"**_ _The Arrow asked quietly._

 _"My husband…" Moira said hesitantly as Nathan listened from the floor. "He got involved without my knowing. He was just trying to do some good." She said, more for Nathan's sake than the Hood's. "He was lost. He… his decisions left me vulnerable to Malcolm, and I had no choice. I had to protect my family and my children." She finished, trying to justify her actions._

 _ **"This device,"**_ _The Arrow started,_ _ **"Where is it?"**_

 _"I don't know." She said tearfully._

 _"_ _ **If you don't tell me, I can't stop Merlyn!"**_ _The Arrow said angrily._

 _Moira scoffed. "Oh, you can't stop him." She spat. "It's too late."_

" **As you can see, Malcolm wants to kill you all. I urge everyone in Glades. Evacuate, now. Save yourselves."**

 _ **Queen Manor**_

Moira was with Thea as they both watched the news. "I don't understand." Thea said in shock.

"I'm sorry." Moira said, crying. "I love you."

"I love Roy." She said, suddenly terrified.

"Roy?"

"He lives in the Glades." She said, tears in her eyes. "I can't leave him there." She spun and ran out of the room, rushing off to save her boyfriend.

"Sweetheart-Thea!" Moira called out. She wanted to go after her but was restrained by a patrol officer as McKenna Hall and several officers burst into the Manor and McKenna began reading her rights. "Moira Queen, you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit mass murder, and aiding and abetting a terrorist. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney."

 _ **Merlyn Global**_

"Freeze!" Malcolm looked over to see three S.W.A.T. officers rush in, weapons aimed at him. "Malcolm Merlyn, you are under arrest." The leader said. Malcolm ducked into his armory, and the cops opened fire, missing him. They moved cautiously to the doorway-

But Malcolm came out with a broadsword.

Malcolm slit the first officer's throat, and then impaled the second., and decapitated the third.. All three cops were now dead.

Before Malcolm could make a break for it, someone dropped to the floor. Malcolm turned sharply only to see it was a member of the League.

"Al Sah-Her," the guy said, his Arabic accent shining through, "Ra's al Ghul orders you to appear before him immediately. He also mentions that it would be unwise to run. You would not make it out of this city alive."

His piece spoken, the League member vanished. Looking outside his window, Malcolm saw the smoke coming from a nearby rooftop. Ra's had somehow learned of his plans. He could not hope to run away now. His plans were crumbling around him. There was one way he could turn this around though. He who kills Ra's becomes Ra's, after all.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Night had fallen, and Nathan finally made his way into the burned out ruins of the camp. "Shado! Slade!" he called out, searching for his friends. He spotted a case lying in the middle of the road. Curious, he toed the lid off, and then knelt down to pick up Yao Fei's recurve bow. He looked at it, felt the weight of it in his hand, then picked up an arrow and nocked it. Suddenly he heard laughing, and he stood up and saw Slade, sitting with his back to some crates._

 _"Boy, I should have figured." He laughed and pulled himself to his feet. "You couldn't save the day without making a mess."_

 _"Where's Shado?" Nathan asked._

 _"I thought she was with you." Slade said._

 _"Actually, she's with me." They both looked to see Fyers moving towards them, dragging Shado with him._

 _He held his gun to her head._

 _"Let her go!" Slade yelled. He limped forward, but fell to his knees. "It's over, Fyers!"_

 _Nathan calmly lifted the bow and drew back the string. "Let her go." He said calmly._

 _"Amazing." Fyers said. "A two year operation undone because a young playboy happened to wash up on the shore, and now here you are- a killer." He chuckled. "You wanted nothing more than to leave this island, and now you can. I can call in a rescue ship, you can go home!" He yanked Shado closer. "Tell me, Mr. Queen. Are you prepared to sacrifice your freedom?" he pushed Shado forward slightly. "For her?"_

 _Nathan looked to Shado. She nodded imperceptibly. So he breathed, aimed-_

 _And fired._

 _Fyers lurched back, releasing Shado. He gurgled slightly, then fell over, dead, with and arrow sticking out the center of his throat._

 _Nathan tilted his head slightly, staring at his work. "I am." He said coldly. Slade looked at him in disbelief, but Shado looked at him and grinned slightly. She nodded, and then looked back at Fyer's corpse. Her father had been avenged._

 _ **Flashback End**_

Malcolm appeared on the rooftop, patiently waiting for Ra's to show up. Sensing a presence and realizing he had been played, he notched an arrow and fired behind him, missing The Arrow, who moved his head out of the way.

"I admit, using my history with the League to draw me out. That was clever of you. But you were foolish to think I wouldn't realize I had been played. So tell me," Malcolm said from under his hood, "are you ready to die?"

" **The only one dying this night is you, AL Sah-her!"** The Arrow shouted back.

The two archers began sending arrow after arrow at each other. Both were running low, and then soon enough Malcolm was out. They ran towards each other, and as they came together Malcolm swung his bow at The Arrow's head. The Arrow dropped to his knees, sliding under the blow, then raised his bow up to block the follow up. They began trading blows furiously, expertly wielding their bows like bo staffs. The Arrow spun away and fired another arrow- which Malcolm caught inches from his face- which then exploded, sending him sprawling.

" **You never learn, do you?"** The Arrow asked rhetorically.

Malcolm got back up, tossing his bow aside and drawing his sword. They were fighting in close, with The Arrow blocking the sword with his bow. Finally he kicked it away, then kicked Malcolm, sending him sprawling. He staggered to his feet just as The Arrow jumped at him. The Arrow wrapped his legs around Malcolm's head and did a hurricanrana, landing Malcolm back to the ground on his back as The Arrow landed on top. Malcolm slid away and got up jumping at The Arrow and spinning from an arm bar to a reverse choke. He reared back, cutting off The Arrow's air. He reached back and ripped off Malcolm's hood, trying to find something to hit, but he couldn't.

"Don't struggle. It's over." Malcolm said as the two sank to their knees. The Arrow was trying desperately to get air, but Malcolm was just too damn strong. "There was never any doubt in the outcome." Malcolm said. "Don't worry. Your precious scum in the Glades will join you in death." He snarled as he snapped his nemesis' neck.

Malcolm, after taking a breather, pulled the Arrow's hood back to reveal spiky golden blonde hair. Fearing the worst, as he only knew one person with this kind of hair, he pulled off the face mask and eye goggles to reveal Nathaniel Queen's face, the light having gone out in his eyes.

"Oh no," Malcolm uttered in self-loathing. He had killed the only other boy he had cared for as a son.

" **Don't worry,"** came the modulated voice of Prometheus as he stood next to Helena on the sidelines. He handed her his bow and arrows. And walked until he was facing opposite of Malcolm. He pulled back his hood and pulled off his mask to reveal Nathan's face, to Malcolm's shock, "You didn't kill me."

"How!?" Malcolm asked in shock, only to see the form of the Arrow fade into red mist. "Magic." Merlyn grounded out, having encountered the Lazarus Pits and a few mages over his lifetime made him a believer of magic.

"Not quite but close enough," Nathan said, holding his mask to his side, "And now you will join that clone of me in death."

"Don't you see what I'm doing? I'm trying to save this city! It's needs the Undertaking to happen to save it from the people poisoning it!" Malcolm shouted.

"Ha! That's laughable Malcolm, because you're the one doing the most poisoning. You've known about all the one's that were poisoning this city, yet you did nothing to stop them!" Nathaniel argued.

"I've tried your way before, Nathaniel. It doesn't work!" Malcolm shouted in rage.

"No you didn't. You and my dad tried to coerce them into saving this city, I'm taking them off the board! And while we're on the subject, you already killed the bastard who killed Aunt Rebecca. Because that is really why you're doing this. You could have helped her had you just picked up the phone. You really think that killing them all will alleviate your own guilt?" Nathan said.

"YES! THEY ALL DESERVE TO DIE! THE SAME WAY SHE DID!" Malcolm shouted in rage and grief.

"You really have become blinded by your rage and grief, Malcolm. The time for talking is done. You die now." Nathaniel said as he put his mask back on and walked forward.

Malcolm picked his sword and walked forward, noting "You're unarmed, nephew. Are you really in that much of a hurry to die?"

" **I'll take your sword from you when you're done with it."** Nathan said as he walked forward. Malcolm attempted an overhead strike, but Nate stepped aside and delivered a strong backhand to Malcolm's face.

Nathan crossed his arms behind his back and Malcolm regained his footing. Malcolm swung to decapitate Nathan but he maneuvered his head out of the way. Malcolm swung again at Nate's chest but Nate leaned back to avoid the blow. Malcolm gripped his scimitar with both hands and swung at Nate's head, but Nate ducked under strike and stepped across Malcolm's left side, delivering a harsh jab to his stomach, causing Malcolm to fall to his knee in pain as Nate circled him.

Malcolm rushed at Nathan and swung at him with a running overhead strike but Nate merely sidestepped and jabbed Malcolm in the face with his right hand, causing Malcolm to fall to the ground. Malcolm grinded his teeth together and got back up. He was at a severe disadvantage in this fight. He realized now that Nate had seriously held back in their last duel. That fact, combined with the fact that he was feeling the fatigue from his fight with Nate's clone, as well as Nate's mention of Rebecca angering him, was making him desperate and causing him to make stupid mistakes.

Malcolm stabbed at Nate with his sword and Nate maneuvered his body out of the way without taking a step. Malcolm tired to punch him but Nate swiftly grasped Malcolm's wrist, appearing behind Malcolm with his arm and squeezed until Malcolm's wrist began to crack, causing Malcolm to groan as Nate kicked him in the back, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Nate pulled out one of his chokuto just as Malcolm returned to his knees and sliced at Nate's knees, which was parried away. Malcolm stabbed at Nathan from his kneeling position, which was parried and then attempted an overhead strike as he rose, which made Nate spin pivot on his feet and parry away. As Nate returned to his original position, his free hand grasped Malcolm's sword wrist to his body, locking out the arm and delivering a blow with the butt of his sword to Malcolm's lower rib before letting him go, causing him to stumble away.

Nate swung at Malcolm's neck but missed. They both swung at each other and their swords clashed for a moment. They then traded strikes for several moments , neither able to get a clean shot. Finally, Nate was able to parry Malcolm's overreaching blow away and kicked out his knee. Malcolm tried to rise but Nate delivered a fierce blade kick to Malcolm's face, causing him to fall back further.

Malcolm, in his rage, roared at Nathan and rushed him, swinging wildly for a moment until Nathan grabbed Malcolm's wrist when he threw a punch, locking the arm out and jabbed him in the stomach with the butt of his sword and then kicked his shoulder causing him to stumble away.

While Malcolm could not see it, Nathan was smirking underneath the mask. Nathan pointed his word at Malcolm and tauntingly walked toward him. Enraged Malcolm knocked the blade away, elbowing Nathan in the face, twisting his arm and forcing him to his knee's. Helena stepped forward in fear her boyfriend, and Malcolm grinned evilly at the 'mistake' Nathan made. He swung downward to decapitate Nate, but Nathan pulled is arm out of Malcolm's grasp and pivoted away. Malcolm repeated the same strike and Nathan caught Malcolm's wrist his left hand, while his chokuto flew back into Nathan's right hand. Without wasting a movement, he fluidly brought his chokuto in an upward swing, slicing Malcolm's sword arm off at the elbow, and taking Malcolm's scimitar from the now useless appendage. Malcolm grunted and gritted his teeth to prevent himself from crying out in pain.

Nathan then sliced Malcolm's chest several times with the scimitar before impaling Malcolm all the way through in the stomach with it, clipping his spine in the process, causing him to cough up blood and fall to his knees and he grasped the sword with his remaining hand.

" **It's over Malcolm."** Nathan said and he lifted Malcolm chin up to look at him, " **This world will be safer without you in it."** In that moment, Malcolm saw the shadow of a man he had once served as his horseman. In that moment, he saw, not Nathaniel Queen, but Ra's al Ghul.

Malcolm was brought out of his thought's when Nathan plunged his chokuto into the center of Malcolm's chest, piercing his heart. As Nathan pulled out his blade, he began saying a prayer for Malcolm that was in Arabic. _**"Forgive and have mercy upon him…"**_

Robert Queen, his old friend that he had murdered to advance his plan, flashed in his mind.

" _ **Excuse him and pardon him…"**_

Malcolm remembered Frank Chen, another friend he had murdered when Frank's continued existence had threatened the Undertaking.

" _ **Make honorable his reception…"**_

Malcolm remembered Moira, a woman who had been his friend and lover once, whom he had manipulated and threatened for 5 years.

" _ **Protect him from the punishment of the grave…"**_

Malcolm remembered playing with an 8 year old Tommy before Rebecca died, back when he treated Tommy like an actual son.

"… _ **And the torment of the Fire.**_ **"**

Malcolm's final memory would be of Rebecca, holding her closely and kissing her on their wedding day.

" _Rebecca."_ Malcolm whispered her name, as she had been who he, in his twisted mind, had committed their heinous acts for. It would also be the last thing he ever said, as Nathan cut his head off, letting the body fall to the ground.

Helena walked forward to her boyfriend as he pulled his mask off and breathed. She hugged him and he hugged her.

"Hey, you gonna okay?" She asked her lover.

"I will be, with you and the rest of the girls." He smiled at her.

"What was that you were saying? It sounded like Arabic." Helena asked.

"It was a prayer," Nathan explained, "Shado and Henri taught me that when a man challenges Ra's al Ghul and they lose, he says a prayer for them, for their souls to be judged fairly when they pass on. I thought it was fitting, being that he was Ra's Horseman once upon a time."

"Are you going to just leave him there?" Helena asked.

"No, I'm not," Nathan said as he stepped forward.

 **Incinerator**

 **Later**

Nathan slowly watched from the outside of the furnace as Malcolm's body and head slowly burned to ash.

 **The docks**

 **Later that night**

Nathan was in his civilian clothes, holding the urn that contained Malcolm's ashes.

"I know that I'm being a bit selfish here, not giving Tommy the opportunity to bury you. But to be honest, he is busy at the moment."

 **Laurel's Apartment**

Laurel and Tommy were kissing each other as they cuddled together, basking in the afterglow of their sex.

 **Docks**

"Besides, his last moments on this earth should be filled with happiness. Your own son was dying and you would rather kill thousands of innocent people." Nathan said as he tossed some ashes into the water.

"I can understand your point of view, uncle. Rebecca's death shattered you and it twisted and shaped you into something else. I know what grief can do to you. After I lost Yao Fei, Shado, Akio, and Taina, I was consumed with grief. And then the Red Death broke me. If it wasn't for Talia and Henri, I would have ended my own life to end my misery. I'm just saying, I get it." He tossed some more ashes into the water.

He then grasped the rest of the urn. "You made mistakes Malcolm. You and my Dad tired to coerce the bad guys into helping to save this city. When that didn't work, you let it get worse, just so you could validate your vendetta."

Nathan sighed as he continued, "But I made mistakes as well, Uncle. I gave some of them a chance to redeem themselves. But I realize now that I have been too restrained. I can't hope to save this city if I let them live, because they haven't changed. And they never will. So, I wanted to thank you uncle, for showing me the error of my ways." He finished and poured the rest of his Uncles ashes into the dark waters, letting the ashes scatter and float away.

 **Next Night**

 **"Good evening, Starling City. I come bearing a most grievous message. Last night, The Arrow died stopping Malcolm Merlyn's plan for Glades. But what my master stood for did not die,"** Everyone looked to see Prometheus on the screen, **"It lives on through me. To all the criminals of Starling City, sleep with one eye open from now on, because I'm coming for all of you. I am Prometheus and none of you are safe."**

 **Two Nights later**

Harold Backman, underworld accountant, was setting banded stacks of $100 bills into a metal briefcase as he talked on his speakerphone.

"Call Cayman Fidelity." He said as two bodyguards stood watch. "Tell them their favorite accountant is flying in to make a special deposit for a special client." He grinned at the implication. He loved the power his position offered him, and loved taking advantage of every benefit.

The smile fell off his face, however, when he heard the elevator ding.

"That elevator's supposed to be on a key." He said aloud. He looked up at his guards. "Go. Check it out." He ordered. One of the men grabbed the briefcase, and both drew their guns as they headed to the elevator. They looked on in confusion as the door to the elevator opened, then closed partially, then opened again.

Prometheus dropped down, slicing both of the guards heads off.

Harold tried to make a run for it , but Prometheus threw a ninja star as his knee, causing Harold to fall to the ground. Harold cried out in pain as he turned around, only to see an arrow aimed at his heart.

" **Harold Backman, you have failed this city!"** Prometheus shouted as he let the arrow fly, silencing Harold's cry's for mercy.

 _ **Journal Entry #47**_

 _ **Year 2045**_

 _ **The death of Malcolm Merlyn marked the end of the Arrow and his more restrained ways. It gave rise to my fathers more brutal methods, eliminating criminals completely and offering no second chances. Harold Backman's death is credited with being the start of my father's 2 year war on crime where he took no prisoners, and truly cleaned up the city in a way as The Arrow , he never could. More on that in my next entry.**_

 _ **Signed,**_

 _ **Henry Queen, The Green Arrow and son of Nathaniel Queen.**_

 _ **End Journal Entry #47**_

 **Chapter End**

 **Season 1 End**

 **AN: SO I hope you liked the ending. Now that I got season 1 done, I'm gonna focus on a few chapters of my special gathering story. Crank some chapters out of that before I continue on with Season 2 on this. Cheerio!**


	20. Chapter 20 - A Guardian's City

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(Obviously, eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth 0 Laurel Lance (eventually), Secret Guest Character #1( If you can guess)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Alena, Lena Luthor, Secret Guest Character #2 (If you can Guess)**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Dinah Drake, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller(maybe, I don't know), McKenna Hall**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Earth 2 Laurel Lance**

 **I'm back, Y'all. Season 2 begins NOW!:)**

 **Chapter 20: A Guardian's City**

 _My name is Nathaniel Queen. After 5 years of a hellish existence, I have come back with only one goal: To save my city. And I Succeeded. Now with my team at my back, I work day and night to weed the remaining scum to make sure this never happens again. To do so I become someone else. I become something else. I am_ _ **Prometheus.**_

 **Queen Consolidated**

 **CEO's Office**

"Uh huh. Yes, I understand. Thanks for the help again, Lena, and congrats on the taking over Lexcorp again. We'll be in touch." Nathan said as he hung up the phone and finished some papers on his desk and sign some papers.

Speaking of Lena Luthor, he had connected his old friend several times since he had first been back, but their contact had been increased in the last 6 months, since when he first took over the company, she had come over under the pretense of discussing a potential business deal, which was really an excuse for Lena to come see him and catch up. Catching up in the form of some late night fun aka sex. After all, in their youth, the Queens, the Merlyn's, the Luthor's, the Wayne's(Until Bruce's parents were killed), the Vanaver's, and the Teague's got together for parties every year. Him and Lena had experimented sexually and gave each other their virginity at 15, though a relationship was out of the question, since Metropolis was too far away from Starling City. Although she was making plans to move Lexcorp HQ to National City and change the name. You know, fresh start and all that.

While she was here for a few days, she had given him some lessons in being a CEO that she had learned in the last year. He probably didn't need it, since he had managed to get a Master's in Business Administration from Harvard in a record 4 years, due to taking a bunch of classes in high school and always having his schedule full with the maximum possible class load in College, even in the summer. But the lessons did help.

He got up from his desk and looked out the window with his arms crossed behind his back. In the last 6 months, he had killed over 130 names on his father's list. Including the one's he had already taken down the previous year to make sure they didn't try anything again, and the member's on the list that worked at QC, emptying the company of scum. Which meant he had completed a little over a quarter of his fathers work. And he was using his influence to replace the people he killed with honest, morally structured people to make sure a corrupt person didn't replace them. That didn't mean he didn't keep an eye on them, just incase power corrupted them. If so, rinse and repeat.

He started to buy up the property in the Glades immediately after the Undertaking, particularly the worn down slums. He tore them down and had Bertinelli Construction, through Helena, make new, liveable, low-cost housing for the people in Glades. He made sure that Helena's company was staying within regulation by bringing in several OSHA officials to make sure they were within regulation. The people in the Glades were slowly beginning to see Helena and Nathan as saviors, which was good for PR.

He had handed off the reigns of his club to Thea, though he had been forced to lock her out of his Lair, so the door wouldn't open incase she accidently placed her hand on it. He had also purchased the land his families mansion was on, so he technically owned the property and the house, but he still lived in his loft. In his spare time, he had been working on establishing two backup lairs incase his main one under Verdant was ever compromised. One underneath the mansion and another within the city.

His relationships with Helena, Chien, Lyla (who was sitting on the couch in his office, working on some ARGUS stuff) and Talia were still going strong. Though Talia had to head back to her organization to keep her Shadows in check.

It hadn't all been good though. His lawsuit against Quentin hadn't quite gone the way he wanted. Quentin did lose his rank as detective and would not be allowed to advance in rank for a period of 10 years. But he was allowed to remain on the SCPD as a low-level police officer. The only good thing about that was that McKenna Hall had been promoted to Detective. He was strongly leaning towards approaching her as Prometheus about working with him on the side.

Tommy had passed away from his cancer about 2 months ago **.** His final days had been filled with joy of spending time with Laurel and Nate. In his will, he left Merlyn Global Group to Nathan and left Laurel with a large sum of money equivalent to 100 million dollars, but his will reading was kept a private affair. So Queen Consolidated had absorbed Merlyn Global Group and it's holding's and Laurel got all that money. He had tried to be there for Laurel but she had asked him for some space so she could grieve in peace. He had obliged but he believes 2 months is long enough and it's time for him to be there for her.

The other thing that was bugging him was a woman. Isabel Rochev. Right after the Undertaking, QC's stock had plummeted. He was able to buy most of it, about 60% of the stock, making him the majority shareholder. But he was unable to grab the other 40% when Isabel Rochev, the vice president of the Acquisitions Department at Stellmoor International, stepped in. She wasn't on the List **.** He had double checked to make sure of that, including cross-referencing his old man's copy with Frank Chen's and Malcolm's.

He just wasn't sure about Isabel. He had done his research on the woman. She had been an intern at QC but was fired around the time Thea had fallen off that horse, so he guessed his father might have been sleeping with her. After she was promoted to her previous position at Stellmoor, she showed a preference for buying up property that QC put up for sale, but other than that, nothing truly nefarious, but he intended to keep digging in case there was something.

He had been forced to give her a position on the Board of Directors and last month, was forced to make her his CFO for several reasons. 1: The company needed a new one since the last one had been killed by him because he was on the List. 2: He didn't trust the rest of the Board. 3: The only bad thing she had done so far to him was possibly sleeping with his father and attempting a hostile takeover of his company. 4: Unlike a majority of the top brass, she was the only one besides him that took this job seriously. Anyway, they had a decent working relationship, but she tended to fight him on a number of issues, including several projects he wanted to run. He was considering seducing her, because she was a beautiful woman and would definitely be a good lay, and it would certainly make her more agreeable, but he should probably run it by the girls first.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Slade and Nathan were sparring with wooden bokken, and it was evident that Nathan had improved by leaps and bounds since the death of Fyers and the rest of the mercenaries. They fought fast and furiously for several minutes before mutually coming to a stop. A noise drew Nathan's attention, and he looked to the door to see Shado, now wearing her father's hood, walk in with a freshly caught bird in a cage. Slade took advantage and hit him hard across the side of his head with his bokken, sending Nathan to his knees._

 _Slade laughed. "You're not the first man to learn the hard way- women are a distraction." He said as he moved off to get a drink of water._

 _Shado came over, lowering her hood as she did so._

 _"You've come very far in all your training in the last five months." She told him as he pulled himself up. "Don't beat yourself up."_

 _"Nah, that's your guy's job." Nathan said with a smile._

 _"And I love my job." Slade replied cheekily. "Not that I wouldn't trade it for a way off this island."_

 _"While you two were playing with each other, I was hunting." Shado retorted._

 _"Well, there's nothing more attractive than a woman who can hunt." Slade complimented, walking past the two towards the cage._

 _Nathan smiled at a memory. "When I was marooned here, my first meal was a pheasant." He told her. "Your father cooked it for me."_

 _"He was an awful cook." Shado said._

 _"Yeah." Nathan agreed. "But a great father. I'm looking at the proof." He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips._

 _Across the way, Slade snapped the neck of the bird. "Let's eat." He said. Before they could even start cooking, a beeping sound caught their attention._

 _"What's that?" Nathan asked._

 _"That's Fyers' proximity detector." Slade said as the three ran over to the crate it was sitting on. Shado reached it first and lifted it. "We salvaged it from the wreckage of the soldier's camp." Shado said. "Picks up anything moving outside our safe zone." On the screen there was a rough map of their section of the island, along with three dots that seemed to be moving. "It's been five months since we stopped Fyers. He and all of his men were dead." She said in confusion._

 _"Are we positive that's not a few small animals?" Nathan suggested._

 _"There's an imaging interface." Shado pushed a button, and a thermal image came up on the screen- unmistakably of three men, probably holding weapons._

 _"Okay. Those are not animals." Nathan noted._

 _"And we're not alone on this island." Slade added._

 **Flashback End**

On several unrelated notes, he had gotten a new secretary last month after the last one quit. A pretty red head with green eyes named Natalie Rushman. It didn't hurt that she had also previously done some modeling in Tokyo and he had every photo from that shoot on his computer which he would occasionally look at and daydream about tapping that sweet ass. Cause hey, she was hot. And despite having 3-4 lovers on demand, he was always horny. One downside of having Mirakuru is an inexhaustible sex drive.

All the hacking he had done had also apparently caught the attention of a hacker that went by **SkyeQuake,** who was confirmed to be in the city **.** Apparently, whoever it was had been fans of his for the last 3 years, since he had hacked the NSA for ARGUS about the Sheldon Cooper job. His own hacker tag was **Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.**

Oh and Felicity's old position had been taken over by a new hire, her name was Daisy Johnson. Very pretty oriental girl.

One final thing was Blood. Sebastian Blood. An alderman who was in the business of saving this city. He wasn't interested in meeting him yet, but given the rumbling in the Glades about Blood for Mayor, he might have to.

 **Verdant Main Office**

 **Later in the Day**

Thea and Roy were busy ripping off each other's clothes to have a quickie on the desk.

"I only have a second." Thea said with a smile as they kissed hungrily.

"That's ok; my boss has been all over my ass today." Roy replied as she undid her shirt. "You should hear what she sounds like when- Ow!" Roy hissed in pain, and Thea paused in her ministrations and frowned. She looked down at his bruised side, now exposed as she was pulling up his shirt.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Thea said angrily, pushing Roy away roughly.

"Come on! I don't want to fight." Roy said, rushing after her as she stalked out of the office.

"Clearly you do, since you keep on taking every street corner drug dealer that you can get your fists on." Thea said. She exited the office.

Thea stalked down the stairs to the main floor as Roy trailed behind.

"It's not like that." He said. "The Glades are still a bad place to live, despite what your brother and his girlfriend have been doing."

"I know, but you already saved a busload of people that had crashed into a building during the evacuation 6 months ago and managed not to get killed." She argued. "I mean, how much more of a hero do you need to be? It's like you have a death wish. And guess what- it's going to come true." She said.

"Yeah, well, someone has to do something." Roy countered. The two came to a stop on the main floor and Thea turned back to look at him. "And stand up for what's right, like he does."

"Prometheus." She said dryly. "Who by the way, has been going around and killing a bunch of people, including some of the people my brother works with."

"Oh dear me. What exactly have I walked into?"

Thea turned around and smiled as Nathan walked into the club. "Nate!" she exclaimed happily, throwing herself into a hug. They separate, and she saw him looking at Roy. "Ah, you remember my friend Roy."

"It's alright Thea, I'm well aware he's your boyfriend. You treating her good?" Nathan asked with a bit of an edge to his voice.

"Always." Roy replied evenly, shaking his hand.

"Good, then we have nothing to worry about," Nathan said with a sickeningly sweet smile that promised pain if he did hurt her.

"So Thea," Nathan asked his sister as they walked over to the bar. Roy took the opportunity to get back to work, "How you been handling the bar?"

"It's been a learning experience. It's a bit rough and stressful sometimes but I definitely prefer this to community service at CNRI." Nate laughed a bit at that. "How's Laurel?"

"I don't know. She wanted some space so she could grieve alone and I didn't have the heart to deny her request, but I'm gonna check up on her later this week." Nathan said.

"Have you made it to Iron Heights?" Nathan asked gently.

"To visit the woman who tried to drop a city on 15,000 innocent people? No, thank you." She said sarcastically.

"Thea…" Nathan sighed. "That's not what mom did. You know that nobody actually died because of her and Malcolm."

"Right. She had no choice." Thea said acidly. "But guess what? She did. A choice not to be complicit with mass murder. And I have a choice, too. So I choose not to be her daughter."

She smiled at her brother- a genuine smile- and placed a warm hand on his arm. "But I am so happy you came down to see me." She let go and moved off further down the bar. "Honestly, I need to deal with our liquor distributor who shorted me on yesterday's delivery, and one of my bartenders called in sick, so…" she finally looked up at Nathan and noticed his expression. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing." He said. "It's- it's nice to see you like this."

"Like what?" she asked suspiciously.

"Like you have your ducks in a row." Nathan smiled. Thea returned it, and then moved off to continue working. The sound of the TV caught his attention and he turned back to the bar.

'-The representative from Central City says construction on the Star Labs particle accelerator should be completed by Christmas.

And in local news, billionaire Nathan Queen has done yet another good deed for the city, allying with recently reformed Bertinelli Construction to bring affordable and livable low-income housing to the Glades. With his mother's upcoming trial and his company coming back from the terrorist scandal of last year, analysts are asking what the Queen family scion has planned next." He looked at the screen, wondering the same thing.

 **City Hall**

 **Night time**

A benefit was being thrown to raise money for the Glades. In the main hall, the Mayor was having a discussion with the District Attorney about the usefulness of vigilantes.

"Wasn't our country founded on a brand of vigilantism, Mr. Donner?" The Mayor asked. "The revolutionaries in the Boston Tea Party were certainly choosing justice over law."

"I'd hardly compare our founding fathers to the late Arrow and his two former protégés, Mr. Mayor, or these twisted copycats who appeared last week." Donner argued. The Mayor looked past Donner and smiled at the figure walking down the steps. "Ms. Lance. What do you think about vigilantes?" he asked as she joined the pair.

"I'd be foolish to disagree with my new boss." Laurel replied with a smile.

"I knew I was smart to hire you." Donner said.

"I'd heard you joined the district attorney's office." The Mayor said.

"It was time for a change." Laurel said simply.

"Still, I'm sorry that you and your colleagues at CNRI won't be opening your doors again." He said. Despite him being a politician, she actually believed he meant it.

"There were no doors left to be reopened." Laurel replied with a twinge of sadness.

A series of musical chimes sounded. "They're playing my song." The Mayor said, racing off towards the podium as he was introduced.

"Good evening." He said to polite applause. "It has been a very difficult year for Starling City. Our losses have been incalculable, our grief unimaginable. But with the generous donations you people are making tonight, we will come back from this tragedy."

"You have failed this city, Mr. Mayor!" a voice screamed out, causing the Mayor to stop short. "The Glades almost descended into hell on your watch! You swore to protect all the citizens of Starling, not just the wealthy!"

"We're sorry about this, folks." The Mayor said. "We'll have this sorted out in just a minute."

Before any action could be taken, though, the Mayor was cut down in a hail of bullets. People started screaming and ducking for cover as four men, armed with automatic weapons and wearing Kevlar and paintball masks came storming down the stairs. They continued firing at the meager police presence in the room, cutting them down even as they tried to return fire. By the time they reached the main floor, the cops were all dead.

One of the men came up to Donner, letting his rifle hang on the sling and drawing his pistol. "Mr. District Attorney-" he started, but then Laurel was there; she swiftly grabbed his gun and sent three hard elbows into his face. The mask prevented any major damage, but the impact sent him to the ground. Laurel looked down at cold rage, the man's gun in her hand, but froze as she heard another gun cock behind her. She turned to see another masked man pointing his pistol right in her face. He gestured for her to get to her knees, and Laurel, her face full of rage and fear, complied.

"We are the Hoods." He said as she stared at him, unwavering. "And what was taken from us, we will take back." He pulled the trigger, but the gun only clicked- it was empty. She jumped slightly, but otherwise didn't react as the Hoods ran out of the building and into the night.

 **Later**

Later that night, Quentin rushed in, looking for-

"Laurel!" he exclaimed, running up to her and hugging her tightly.

"Dad, I'm fine." Laurel protested, but returned the hug anyway.

"You've got one very brave daughter there, sir." Donner told him, walking up to the family.

"Yeah, one daughter's right, and I can't stand to lose another." Quentin said.

"Well, I still can't believe this happened." Donner said. "The hoods attacks have strictly been limited to people in the financial sector trying to redistribute wealth in the Glades at gunpoint."

"Yeah, well, clearly that's not getting the result they're looking for, is it?" Quentin said, walking off with Laurel. "Did you get a good look at any of them?" he asked, the stress of the situation reverting him to type.

"It was hard to focus on anything other than the gun barrel pointed at my face." Laurel replied.

"No tattoos, distinguishing marks?"

"What do you think you're doing?" Lance looked up to see a cross Lieutenant Pike stalking towards him. "Interviewing the witness is the job of the Detective. Officer Lance." He said pointedly.

"She is my daughter." Lance said desperately. "She was nearly killed tonight."

"Well, as a parent, you're welcome to stay." Pike said. "But as a beat cop, you're more than free to go." With that, Pike turned and walked off.

"You know, that's one of the downsides of being demoted- I don't get to witness his sunny disposition on a daily basis." Quentin joked. Laurel looked up and saw Nathan walking down the stairs.

"Dad, give me a sec." she said, moving off towards her friend.

"Yeah." Quentin said with a sigh.

"I was beginning to think you had forgotten me." Laurel said to Nathan as they met at the bottom of the stairs.

"I was already on my way here. You asked for some space to grieve in private and I decided 2 months was enough. I only just heard about what happened few minutes ago." He said, as they shared a hug.

"Just four hooded gunmen." Laurel said off-handedly. "Nothing a few self-defense classes couldn't handle."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay." Nathan said, silently vowing he was going to brutally butcher these so called "Hoods'.

 **Hoods hideout**

Later that night, in an old abandoned church, the four hoods were watching the news to see how their actions were reported. Instead they saw-

'And in local news, billionaire Nathan Queen announces new plan to buy more land in the Glades to renovate and make it liveable for the folks of the Glades again.'

"Unbelievable." One of the men said. "We off the mayor on live TV, and what's the local news keep showing? Nathan Queen. Why?"

"Guess its because he's taking over the Glades." Another one said.

"We've been going about this wrong." The first one said.

"What do you mean?"

"If we want real payback, we got to take the fight to the name that did this to us."

"Queen?"

"Yeah."

"He's some useless brat."

"The applied sciences division of Queen Consolidated built the earthquake generator that almost went off." The first one said. "If we want real justice… then that family has to pay for the suffering it's caused us." He snarled. "In full."

 **Verdant**

Thea was preparing the club for another night. Or would be, if her mind wasn't elsewhere.

"Hello, earth to Queen." Roy said, getting his girlfriend's attention. "What, did you drop a Vertigo when I wasn't looking?" he joked.

Thea gave him a tired smile. "I was just distracted." She said as she headed for the DJ booth.

"About what your brother said, about your mom?" Roy guessed.

"Eavesdrop much?"

"Ah, what I lack in height, I make up for in wicked good hearing." Roy joked.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense, Harper. What's your take on the matter?" Thea asked. "Though, keep in mind, I do control your paycheck and your sex life." She pointed out.

"Well, both my parents weren't worth a damn, either of them." Roy admitted.

"You never talk about them." She noted.

"You got nothing nice to say, right?" Roy chuckled. "Still, I- I'd be glad to see them and talk to them if I could. But look, you already lost your dad. Your mom, she's still here, and I'm sure she'd love to see you."

"I'm sure she's dying to." Thea said angrily. "Just like a lot of mothers in the Glades who almost never got to see their kids again. Because my mother wanted to kill them." She glared at Roy. "I'm not going to that prison. It's the only way I know how to hurt her." She said, moving off.

"You might want to consider how much it's hurting you." Roy called out after her.

 **Next Day**

 **QC**

Nathan and Lyla stepped off of the elevator and headed towards the conference, where they were met with Natalie.

"They're in the conference room, boss." She told them.

Nathan walked into the conference room. Isabel, dressed impeccably in a tasteful red dress, stood and extended her hand.

"Ms. Rochev."

"Mr. Queen." They shook hands.

"Let's get down to business." Nathaniel asked as he sat in the head chair, looking like a king in the process, "How's the company stock doing?"

"Stocks have risen tremendously due to your recent PR campaign, Mr. Queen." One board member said, "Stock is now nearly double of what it was after the Merlyn debacle."

"Excellent, keep me informed on that as we move forward." Nathan said before addressing another board member, "What's the general consensus among the workers?"

"There is an overall good sentiment among the various levels of Queen Consolidated, Mr. Queen. For the most part, they feel secure in their positions and that they won't be fired with you as Chief Executive Officer." One board member said.

"Why haven't we fired anyone yet?" One board member said and everyone looked at him. "if we fired some of our low end workers, we could save millions of dollars."

"Mr Sekulo," Nathan said condescendingly, as if a addressing a child, "QC is still recovering from the scandal that happened last year. We have established ourselves as a family-oriented company with a mostly non-hostile work environment. If we were to start firing people without justification, we would lose revenue and work productivity. Plus, we would look like hypocrites."

"And while we are on the subject, I have an update on project I.C.E.R." Nathan opened a briefcase to reveal a sleek black handgun. "As you know, Project I.C.E.R. is my own project, designed with the intention of giving police a nonlethal way to bring criminals in. Dendrotoxin bullet of my own design breaks when it hit's the skin, delivering the dosage subcutaneously, which instantly renders human target unconscious for several hours. I have been working with my team down in Engineering to slim the design down from the bulky version I showed 2 weeks ago, but we won't be ready for mass-production until we cover the rifle and shotgun variants. Ms. Rochev, where are we on those patents?"

Out in the hall an executive arrives at the bank of elevators. He reaches for the button just as the door opens- revealing the three hoods. The first one belts him across the face, dropping the businessman. The four armed men rush into the boardroom, their weapons drawn.

"I have managed to get patents for Queen Consolidated for both the bullets and the gun designs, Mr. Queen." Isabel said curtly.

"Excellent, now then…" He was interrupted.

"Nathan Queen!" the first one calls out as Nathan rises in alarm. "You failed this city." Nathan glances over at Ms. Rushman, then back at the men. How can he take them out without reveal his secret to the others in the room?

"Get Down!" Lyla shots as she ran into the room, her gun drawn and firing at the three terrorists. Everyone drops to the floor, and Nathan and Isabel look at each other in alarm from under the table

"Pull back!" Lyla called out, returning fire while taking cover under the table. "Nathan, go!"

Nathan grasped Isabel's arm and pulled her up, then pushed her to the door.

He turned around, looking for his secretary-

And came face-to-mask with a Hood.

Nathan, having no choice, knocked the gun away and twisted his arm until his assailant was bent over and shot one time with his I.C.E.R. pistol. The assassin falling to the ground unconscious.

Nathan grabbed his secretary and dragged her with him out of the conference room.

"Quick! They're getting away." The Hood yelled, chasing after them He opened fire with his rifle, but Nathan grabbed onto Natalie tight and took a running leap at the window. Just as he hit and the glass shattered, he grabbed the chain that controlled the blinds. Once again Natalie found herself swinging through the air in Nathan's arms as they dropped a few floors before the chain pulled taught. Nathan brought up his feet and the two smashed through the window of an empty office, tumbling over a desk to the hard floor. Natalie looked up, stunned to see that she was still alive, even as Nathan checked her over for injuries.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Slade, Nathan and Shado were walking through the woods, with Slade carrying the motion tracker._

 _"Well, someone's definitely out there." Slade said. "They're moving closer." He looked up and noted Shado moving off. "Where do you think you're going?" he demanded._

 _"Flanking position." She explained. "They get the drop on you; you'll want some back-up." She smiled at Nathan and said something in Mandarin. He replied with a smile, and then watched her move off._

 _"She's teaching you Chinese. How sweet." Slade said sarcastically._

 _"Don't be like that, man. I'm sure she'd be happy to teach you, too—" suddenly there was the sound of a gunshot, not very far from them. "Shado!" Nathan shouted in alarm, running off towards where she had walked off. Not far away they found her hood lying on the ground. The two looked at each other in concern, then moved off again to search._

 **Flashback end**

 **Iron Heights**

Nathan was waiting in Iron Height's visitor's area as Moira was led in.

It was a shock to see his mother in gray prison jumpsuit and no makeup. She smiled at him as she sat down at the table.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey." He replied. "I'm sorry I didn't make it here sooner."

"Oh, no, no, no." Moira said, shaking her head." Please, Nathan. There are going to be enough apologies with me apologizing to you for the rest of my life."

"You don't have to." Nathan said. "You didn't kill anyone."

Moira gave him a pained smile. "Your sister doesn't see it that way." She said. "And, you know, my attorney is thrilled. If my own daughter can't forgive me, she's not too optimistic about twelve strangers in a jury box." She sighed. "All right, enough of that. How has it been going at Queen Consolidated?" she asked, then smiled at his surprised expression. "Yes, we do get the news in here, Nathan." She said.

"Right."

"You know, if I'd known the key to you taking your rightful place at the company was its demise, I would have declared bankruptcy a year ago." She said teasingly with a bit of a twinkle in her eyes.

"Don't be like that, I'm not that bad." Nathan admitted. "I would be getting much more done if my CFO wasn't fighting me on money issues."

"Isabel Rochev." Moira said with a sigh.

"Yes."

"Do not trust that woman, Nathan. She is dangerous." Moira warned.

"I know, but I also didn't have any other options." He admitted.

 **Verdant**

 **Night**

The club was hopping, and Thea was on the floor serving drinks to keep up with demand. She headed back to the bar and placed her empty tray down. "Table seven needs bottle service, and I need a round of Martinis on the three top." She told the bartender.

"You go see your mom yet?"

Thea looked over at Roy, who came to stand next to her at the bar.

"I thought about what you said." She said.

"And?"

"And…I'll go see her when you stop going out at night looking to clean up the streets."

Roy looked at her in confusion. "What does one thing have to do with the other?" he asked.

"I guess they're both things that are never going to happen." She said, moving back onto the floor and leaving a frustrated Roy behind.

Out in the club, no one noticed as three men dressed in black body armor, hoodies, and carrying assault weapons moved through the club.

The first Hood stopped near the DJ booth, cocked his shotgun, and fired a shot into the air, causing all of the people to drop to the ground in fear. His second shot blew away the DJ booth, turning off the music.

"We're looking for Nathan Queen!" he shouted as his friends circled around. "He owns this dump. Where can we find him?" On the ground near the bar, Roy and Thea exchanged looks. " Ok, then plan 'B'," the first hood grabbed a girl from the stairs and threw he off onto the ground. "I'm going to start shooting people until Mr. Queen grows a pair." He pointed the shotgun in the girls face.

Having seen enough, Roy leapt into action, even as Thea shouted for him to stop. Roy charged the first Hood, taking him down with a devastating tackle. He then turned and sprang up towards the second, forcing the Hood's M-16 up and away. He pushed him back against the stair, then used the rifle to flip the man over his shoulder and onto the ground. The man hit hard, and a prosthetic piece that had been attached to his hand fell off. Roy looked down in surprise at the man, whose gun hand was missing all of his fingers except the thumb. Shaking it off, Roy brought the rifle to his shoulder and aimed it at the third Hood-

Just as the first Hood recovered, grabbing Thea and pulling her up. He hid his body behind hers as Roy swung the rifle around to him and held his gun to her head as she whimpered in terror.

"Roy!" she screamed.

"Drop it, hero." The first Hood growled, holding tight to Thea as she thrashed around. "I'm just as happy to kill this Queen as her brother. Let's go!" the three backed out of the club, taking Thea with them as Roy watched, helpless.

Later that night, Nathan walked into the club as Roy was giving his statement to Detective Hall, as she had been charged with finding them.

"One of the guys was missing a hand." He was saying. "Mostly, anyway. He still had sutures."

"Excuse me. What's going on here?" he demanded.

McKenna sighed. "It was the Hoods, again." She told Nathan. "They came here looking for you, they took Thea instead."

"Where?" Nathan demanded.

"I'm sorry." Roy said. "I really tried to stop them, but I—" he didn't get to finish as Nathan stalked off.

"Nathan." McKenna said. "Nate!" she said louder, causing the man to turn and face her. "We'll get your sister back." She promised.

Nathan nodded to the Hall. "I was going to check something downstairs." He said, moving off towards the basement door. Helena and Lyla, who had arrived with him, saw and moved to follow.

"We need to find these guys." He said finally. "Thea's boyfriend said one of them was missing part of his hand." Nathan said. "Maybe a veteran? Check hospital records, any males that have had surgical amputations on their extremities." He ordered.

Lyla sat down and started typing. "Cross-checking by race and age." In seconds, she got a hit. "Got one-Jeff Deveau. Caucasian, late thirties."

"What else can you get on him?" Nathan asked.

"Ex-Marine."

"Would explain how he can handle himself." Helena noted. "Did he lose his hand overseas?"

Lyla looked deeper, then stopped. "No. In the evacuation." She replied. "Says here he and his wife were trying to make it across the 52nd Street Bridge when a car swerved and crashed into the them. She didn't make it."

Nathan sighed. "Phone records, please." Nathan said. "I want to know he's in contact with."

"He's made a lot of calls to a church in the Glades." She said after a moment of checking. "Something called Standing Strong. It's a support group for those who lost loved ones in the evac." She explained as Nathan looked over the arrows in their case.

"Great place to meet three other guys as angry as you, looking for a little payback." Lyla noted.

"Get me an address, please." Nathan said tiredly.

Helena looked to Lyla, who nodded. "You're going to need this." She said as she rose from her station. She walked over to a table and opened the case that was sitting on it. "I had it custom made." Nathan looked down at the brand-new black and red compound bow. "How'd I do?" she asked.

He picked it up and felt its weight. He moved it slightly to feel it's' balance. He sighed tiredly. "It's perfect." He admitted as they shared a quick kiss.

Helena made to get her stuff, but Nate stopped her. "Normally, I'd want you out there with me." Nathan said kindly. "But they made it personal when they kidnapped my sister. I'm gonna slaughter them all."

 **Flashback**

 _Night had fallen, but Slade and Nathan had finally managed to track Shado. She sat on a log; her hands bound in front of her, surrounded by thee rough looking men. Nathan made to rush them, but Slade held him back._

 _"What are you doing?" he whispered._

 _"We need to save her." Nathan whispered back angrily._

 _"Listen, kid. You are not the only one who cares for her." He admitted. "But there's a lot of them. Wait for my signal." He ordered. Nathan nodded in agreement._

 _"Where are the graves?" one of the men demanded, holding a knife to her face. "Where are the graves?" he demanded again._

 _"I don't know what you're talking about." Shado said. The man slapped her hard across the face, causing her to grunt in pain._ _Nathan's eye's flared in rage._

 _"Tell me." The man demanded, yanking her up by her hair and pulling her head back, exposing her long neck._

 _Enraged, Nathan popped out of the bushes, pulling out his M1911 and fired two rounds into the head's of two of the Merc's, before shooting the one who had exposed Shado's neck in the right lung, dropping him. Slade pulled out his knife and cut Shado free while Nathan stood over the dying man with his gun pointed at the dying man. A passionate and intense rage filled the young man as he breathing was ragged and he imagined what the bastard was about to do to Shado. Not satisfied with letting him die in peace, he twirled his gun around so he was holding the barrel in his hand while flipping the safety back on, knelt down and repeatedly bashed the dying man's face with the butt of his pistol._

 _"Nathan, stop!" Shado cried out to him as he put his gun away and switched to his fists._

 _He repeatedly punched the bastard's face with each hand, blood now flying everywhere with every strike. All he saw was a haze of red rage._

 _"Nathan!" Slade shouted, breaking through the young man's haze of rage. Nathan stared down at the man that he had beaten to death in his rage. His skull had literally caved in due to the beating and he was bleeding in numerous places. Nathan moved off the man and sat back on the ground, spent._

 **Flashback**

 **Abandoned church**

Thea was bound to a chair in the church, trying her best to remain calm as the four Hoods moved around in agitation.

"So… what do you want to do with her?" one of them asked.

"We could knock her out, drop her off somewhere." Another suggested.

"Come on." The fourth Hood snarled. "Why don't you just buy her a new pair of Prada's while you're at it?"

"She's seen our faces." The first hood pointed out.

"Look, offing Nathan Queen's one thing, but his sister?" the third man said. "She's not much older than my sister was when she was killed in the evac frenzy."

"Your sister wasn't killed, she was murdered." The first hood interjected. "By her mother. What we're doing here is justice, which makes us the heroes."

"She didn't kill anybody." Thea said angrily. They all looked at her in surprise, but her focus was on the first Hood. "My mother didn't kill anyone." She repeated. "Malcolm Merlyn was the one who tried to destroy the Glades."

"With mommy's help." He shot back.

"Merlyn killed my father." She pointed out. "She thought he'd kill my brother, too. She was afraid of him. She must have been so afraid." She said, finally realizing what her mother must have been going though.

The first hood wasn't impressed. "Just like my wife when she was hit by one of the people desperate to escape the Glades." He said, pulling his sidearm and cocking it. She stared in fear, then closed her eyes as he brought the gun up to her head-

But the gun was knocked away by an arrow.

 **"Get away from her!"** Prometheus roared.

Three hoods opened fire but Nathan dropped down to cover. The three looked around warily. One was holding his pistol while rounding a corner, only for his gun to be ripped out of his hands before his head was separated from his shoulders by a swift strike from Nathan's Chokuto.

He popped out from behind the construction and threw a shuriken at one of the hood, the shuriken slicing right through the bone and brain, coming out the other side and embedding itself in a pillar 40 feet away. The remaining hood of the three on the ground level, fired a few rounds while Nathan slipped back into cover. His gun jamming up, he threw it down in frustration and rushed at the vigilante. He threw a punch only to have his arm caught and broken with such force that his elbow was popping out of his skin. He didn't long to cry out in pain as Nathan drew his chokuto and sliced his head off just above the lower jaw. He turned to here voices of the last hood dragging his sister along at gun point. He jumped up to the upper level, landing front of a set of doors that led to the bottom floor.

He notched another arrow and pointed it at the terrorist, who once again shielded himself behind Thea.

 **"Let. Her. Go."** He demanded.

"You want to save her?" the man spat. "There was no justice for people like the Queens till you showed us how to get it. You showed us."

Nathan didn't answer and fired. The arrow struck the man's shoulder and sent him spinning away from Thea, over the railing towards the ground two stories below-

But then Prometheus was there, grabbing his hand and arresting his fall.

" **Go!"** He shouted to Thea, who ran to leave after he had cut her bindings.

"You'll drop me anyway." He replied. "I know you. You're a killer." Nathan snarled, then grabbed the man's hand with his other hand and yanked him up.

He ripped the gun out his hands and punched him to the floor, the blow was so hard that it cracked the terrorists skull all long the right side. Looking around to make sure no one or any camera's were around, he flipped the man over.

" **Your right about one thing. I am a killer."** Nathan admitted as he took over his mask but kept his hood up, revealing to the man the face of Nathaniel Queen but with Kyuubi Eyes, "Especially when you go after my sister." The man was horrified by what he saw but before he could even utter a response, Nathan pulled his arm back and punched downward with his Mirakuru strength, his fist punching right through the copycat's face and his fist coming out the back of his skull.

Nathan pulled his blood drenched fist out and put his mask back on before leaving.

 **Iron Heights**

 **Next Morning**

Moira sat in the waiting area, watching a mother hold her baby sadly, and sighed.

"That outfit, with your coloring- isn't that cruel and unusual punishment or something?"

Moira turned and couldn't avoid the look of surprise that crossed her face as Thea walked up to the table. "I've done my best to avoid mirrors in here." She said as her daughter sat down.

"So, I—"

"How have you been?" they both started to say, and then both laughed lightly. "Don't worry about me." Moira said. "I want to hear about you. How are you doing? Are you still seeing, uh- Roy was his name, wasn't it?" she asked. "Sweetheart, I'm fine, really." She assured her.

"It's not that." Thea said. "I… I almost died last night." She started.

"What? Thea, what happened?" Moira asked in alarm.

"It doesn't matter." Thea said tearfully. "But when I thought it was over, I kept thinking that if… if I died, you would spend the rest of your life thinking that I hated you. And I want to hate you." She admitted. "I really tried to. But I can't. I can't, Mom."

"However long I am in this place, you have freed me." Moira said smiling despite tears of her own.

"If I hug you, are they going to shoot us?" Thea asked suddenly.

Moira chuckled. "I'm willing to risk it if you are." She said. The two women rose and embraced. "Oh, shh, shh." She whispered as her daughter cried in her arms.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Nathan pulled himself to his feet, staring down at the man he had just brutally killed. Suddenly a radio went off, and Slade bent down to pick it up. He and Shado listened for several moments._

 _"We're not alone." He said. "The question is, where did they come from?" he wondered. Out in the bay, a ship hugged the coast, its search light playing over the coast._

 **Flashback End**

Back in the present, Roy answered his phone as he walked through the Glades. "Hey, what's up?"

"Just came back from visiting my mom." Thea said from the club.

"Really? Good for you."

"So what do you say? You ready to start spending your nights safe with me?" Thea asked teasingly.

Roy stopped walking, alerted by the sounds of a woman screaming. He looked up to see a waitress being pushed around between three street thugs. "Absolutely." He lied. "Hey, I'm going to pick us up some big belly burger right now. I'll see you later."

"Ok." Thea said, then hung up.

Roy put his phone in his pocket and moved quickly towards the punks.

"We just want to be friendly." One of them said.

"What, we scare you or something?" another added.

"Yeah." They all looked up to see Roy standing there. "I think you do." He continued. "Me, though, not so much." The three thugs backed off from the girl to turn their attention to him. He glanced at the girl. "Run." He told her, and she did just that. The three punks moved to attack, and Roy fended them off. He ducked the first to hit the second, then lashed out at the third before turning back to the leader. He was too slow though, and got belted on the chin. He staggered back, wiping the blood from his lip. The leader pulled a wicked looking knife from his jacket and sneered at Roy.

"That all you got, man?"

Then suddenly SHE was there- all black leather and blond hair, wielding a metal bo-staff that separated into a pair of escrima sticks. She beat the punks down brutally in less than thirty seconds, much to Roy's astonishment.

"Where the hell did you come from?" he asked. She jumped up onto a ledge, looked back at him briefly, and then jumped down, disappearing into the darkness. In the distance, Roy could swear he heard a canary cry.

 **Chapter End**


	21. Chapter 21 - Scoping out Potential

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(Obviously, eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth 0 Laurel Lance (eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Dinah Drake, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller(maybe, I don't know), McKenna Hall**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Earth 2 Laurel Lance**

 **So, y'll pretty much guessed it, so secrets out. Black Widow/ Natasha Romanova and Quake/ Daisy Johnson will be in this story.**

 **Also, just watched Avengers: Infinity War for my B-Day and it was AWESOME** **I give that movie a perfect 10/10. I'm definitely going to do something with the Marvel Universe in this story.  
**

 **Chapter 21 – Scoping out potential**

Nathan was working out in the Verdant Lair, doing reps of pull-ups and pushups hanging off the gear over the Salmon ladder, before leaping off and taking out an arm on the training dummy with an elbow.

 **The Glades**

 **Nighttime**

A FEMA truck drove through the remains of the Glades. Even though Nathan and his team had stopped the Undertaking, there had been enough damage done to the Glades and the Glades Memorial during the evacuation that FEMA decided to send help. It was soon joined by a pair of bikers on dirt bikes who began harassing the truck.

"Faster!" the man in the passenger seat told the driver.

"Foot's on the floor, man." The driver shot back. "Call it in."

"This is FEMA truck 52. We're being pursued by two armed bikers. We're heading south on Third Street, requesting immediate assistance."

A short distance away, Roy sat in a mustang, a police scanner sitting between the seats. He listened to the message, then popped the clutch and took off, racing to help.

In the truck, the two bikers pulled up alongside the cab. "Come on, get us out of here." The passenger urged his partner. "Get us out of here!"

"I'm trying!" he replied.

Ahead of the truck, Roy drove straight at them with his lights off. Seeing the situation, he pulled to the left and gunned his engine. At the last moment he turned his lights on, and the biker swerved to avoid being hit by him. He did not, however, avoided plowing in to the back of a parked car, the impact of which sent him skidding across the tops of the parked cars and to the ground hard. Roy grinned in victory.

In the truck, the passenger looked back in amazement. "Who the hell was that?" he wondered.

The other biker peeled off and turned around, heading towards Roy. Roy spun the mustang around and gunned it, heading towards the biker. It looked to be a repeat, until the biker pulled out a Mac-10 and opened fire, spraying the hood of the car with bullets. The sparks it kicked up momentarily blinded Roy, and when his vision cleared it was too late to avoid the large pile of debris on the road. The mustang hit the debris and flipped over completely, slamming down to the ground and skidding on blown tires and a busted frame for several feet.

Meanwhile, the men in the FEMA truck thought they had gotten away- until the two men spotted a figure in the road up ahead. As they got closer, they saw she was an Asian woman with white hair, twirling a pair of karambit knives.

China White threw the knives at the truck. They smashed through the windshield and hit both men in the neck, killing them. As the dead drivers foot fell off the gas, the truck slowly came to a stop. A moment later, the second biker pulled up next to her and got off of his bike.

"Take the truck. Leave nothing behind." She told him. He nodded and jumped into the cab as she climbed onto the bike.

A short distance away, three cop cars surrounded the totaled Mustang as Roy crawled out of it. They approached him with guns drawn.

"Just so you know, the real bad guys are getting away!" he spat at them angrily as he collapsed against the side of the wrecked vehicle.

 **Verdant**

 **A little While Later**

The night was just getting started. Lyla stood watching the crowd of writhing patrons as Nathan, now dressed in a suit, came up to her.

"We're going to need more sparring dummies." He told his girlfriend with a smile.

"I'll start ordering them in bulk." Lyla replied.

"I really need something different in this city." Nathan admitted. "Lately killing the people on the list has gotten tedious. I need a new problem to tackle."

"This is Starling City. You never have to look far to find someone engaged in illegal activity." Lyla noted.

"Hey!" Thea said happily, running up to the pair. "I didn't see you come in."

"I had a secret entrance installed when I ran the club." Nathan said, actually telling the truth. She gave him a look and he smiled. "Kidding." He lied, playing it up as a joke.

Thea thought about pressing, but then her phone rang. "Hello?" she said, moving behind the two to shield herself from some of the sound as she held the phone tightly to her ear. "Yes, yeah, this is Thea Queen." She listened, and her expression turned from puzzlement to concern to annoyed anger. "Of course that's where he is."

 **Police Station**

Roy was sitting cuffed in the interview room. He stared ahead stoically as Laurel circled around behind him.

"Who is he, Roy?" she asked.

"I already told you, I don't know." Roy replied impassively.

"So you just happen to have one of his ninja stars." She said, tossing down the throwing star that Roy had kept in his pocket ever since he had been saved. He had painted it red, though- a fact he used against his interrogator.

"I hear he likes black ones." He noted.

"Do you think this is funny?" Laurel demanded. "Because I can charge you with obstruction right now!" Laurel was being like this because she was still hurting over Tommy's death, and going after Prometheus was her way of venting.

Roy said nothing, so she decided to take another approach. She sat down across from him. "Look I used to feel the same way as you." She admitted. "They has this way of seducing you."

"Making you feel like he's some kind of guardian angel. But he's not. All he causes chaos and death. And you trying to emulate him just makes the situation worse."

"Half the city almost fell into a hole." Roy noted. "Look, some of us are just trying to make it better."

Laurel scoffed. "Who, like you and Prometheus?"

"Look, there—" he paused, then leaned forward. "There are others. Others out there who are willing to do what's right. I've seen them. I've seen her." He told her.

"I'm not interested in anyone else." Laurel said. "Just him."

A short time later, Roy finally exited the room to find Thea and Nathan waiting for him.

"What happened?" Thea asked, and then took in his appearance. "Are you hurt?"

"Fender bender." Roy said dismissively.

"He totaled his car playing Prometheus junior." Laurel said.

"At least it wasn't my car." Roy shot back.

"Don't say anything!" Thea said in annoyance. "I already called you an attorney."

"That won't be necessary, we're not pressing charges." Laurel told them. "So long as he gives up looking for trouble."

Thea rolled her eyes. "Might as well tell him to give up breathing."

"I'll talk to him." Nathan told Laurel quietly.

"Ask him if he knows anything about Prometheus." Laurel said, watching as Roy and Thea had a quiet argument. "Roy has obviously forged some sort of connection to him. Maybe it goes both ways."

"Doesn't sound like the Vigilantes to have a groupie." Nathan said.

"That's just it- we don't know anything about the Vigilantes." Laurel said. "Except for every time that he shows up, bodies start dropping. It has to stop, Nate. He has to be stopped." Laurel walked away, leaving a very annoyed Nathan behind.

Nathan looked at Roy with narrowed eyes.

"Thea." He called out as he walked towards the pair. His eyes were fixed on Roy. "Can you ask Ms. Lyla to bring the car around, please?"

Thea sighed, and then put a hand on Roy's shoulder. "I'll always think of you fondly." She told him wryly, and then moved off to find Lyla leaving Roy and Nathan alone.

"I used to be a lot like you, Roy." Nathan started.

Roy scoffed. "I doubt that. I spend more time in the back of cop cars than limos, so…" he moved to walk past him, but was stopped suddenly as Nathan grabbed his injured arm in an iron grip.

"The world doesn't work anymore." Nathan began as Roy gasped in pain. "It broke a long time ago, but from your perspective, it was like you were the only one who noticed. That makes you angry." Nathan let go. "And you're afraid that that anger is going to burn you up inside if you have to live in the world one second longer knowing that you could do something to fix it." He stared at Roy hard. "That anger's going to put you in the hospital, kid. Or get you killed."

"Well, I'll take killed." Roy said. "It's better to be dead than in a hospital these days, right?"

Nathan looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Been to the Glades Memorial, lately?"

Nathan blinked. "No, I haven't."

"It was damaged during the evacuation, so the government has been sending medicine. The medicine that been sent the hospital is being hijacked. So, if they don't re-supply soon, they'll be forced to close." Roy said.

"By who?" Nathan demanded.

"I don't know!" Roy exclaimed angrily. "The doctors and nurses are already bailing on the place. And the cops?" he asked sarcastically. "The cops rarely venture that deep into the Glades, so I guess that leaves only me! What's it take to make you angry?" he asked Nathan hotly. When he didn't reply, he scoffed and walked off, leaving Nathan to think.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Nathan was staring at his hands, hands he had just used to bash another man's skull in. He looked past his hand to the body. He looked up at his companions, who looked back worriedly, then turned away and sat down heavily._

 _"Others will come." Shado said. "They won't be happy we killed their men."_

 _"All the more reason to figure out why they're here." Slade said, kneeling down to begin rifling through the men's pockets. He pulled a folded up piece of paper out of the first one's shirt and opened it up. "It's a map. Of the island chain, containing Lian Yu. This is similar to the recon shots that A.S.I.S. gave me before I came here to rescue your father." He said. "Whatever they're looking for, it must be here, on this island."_

 _He looked up at Nathan sadly, who was rubbing his bloodied hands together slowly. "I've seen men in war with that look in their eyes."_

 _"What look?" Shado asked._

 _"The one that says he's splitting into someone else." He explained. "Before, he could distance himself from his kills. Even Fyers, while it was still personal for him, was a cold and calculated kill. This one though, was a passionate and brutal slaughter. Now he see's someone he doesn't even recognize in his own reflection. If someone doesn't talk to him, it'll tear him apart."_

 _Shado looked at him, then back at Nathan. She walked over to him as Slade watched sadly. Shado moved in front of him and leaned over, taking his hands in hers "Come on. Let's get away from this place." She told him, giving him a reassuring smile._

 **Flashback End**

Nathan and Lyla walked through the halls, taking in the signs of desperation all around them.

"Yeah, whoever's stealing from here, they won't be for much longer." Nathan vowed. The two ducked into a stairwell and headed down to the ground floor. Out front Nathan saw a man talking to both protesters and the media.

"This city is failing on all accounts." He was saying.

Nathan looked on curiously. "Who's that in the spotlight?"

"Sebastian Blood, the local alderman that I told you about." Lyla said. "Not too shy about sharing his opinions."

"Which are?"

"Which are that the Glades have been abandoned. And that nobody cares about these people." Lyla replied.

"He hasn't met me." Nathan said, opening the door and stepping outside.

"We cannot stand by while the doctors on the other side of those doors are working with the bare minimum of resources because the police department already sees us as a lost cause." Blood was saying. "Meanwhile, thieves are seeking to make a quick buck off the misery of the Glades." He paused as he finally spotted Nathan. "Nathan Queen, isn't it?" he asked, drawing attention to him.

"Alderman." Nathan said in reply.

"What brings you to Glades Memorial, Mr. Queen? I assume someone of your means can afford the best medical treatment money can buy." Blood said sarcastically. "And I can assure you, you're not going to find that here."

"That is where you are wrong." Nathan said. "The people of the Glades have suffered too much not to have access to basic medical services."

"Well, that's very compassionate of you to say." Blood replied. "Although I wonder where your family's concern for its fellow citizens was when they ordered the construction of the earthquake machine that could have potentially killed 15,000 people."

He stopped, knowing that he couldn't leave it there. He picked up a stray megaphone on the ground and an airhorn. He placed the airhorn close to the mouthpiece on the megaphone and pressed, causing an extremely loud horn noise to sound, making everyone but him and Lyla cover their ears in pain.

"Listen up!" Nathan said through the megaphone, amplifying his already powerful voice, "The Glades used to be the jewel of this city. That was until many of the big business's and other scumbags decided to fuck the Glades for all they were worth and give none of it back. When I came back from my 5 hellish years on that Island, I saw the damage that had been done to the Glades, and swore I would do what I could to help you people. Now that I'm CEO of Queen Consolidated, together with Bertinelli Construction, we are tearing down the abominations that would have given OSHA a heart attack and replacing them with livable homes for the residents who live here."

"Now, I feel for the people here today that depend on the medicine that Glades Memorial gives out. To steal medicine from a hospital that people desperately need, is a crime against humanity. But hope is not lost. For we now live in a city where criminals tend to not last too long, leaving this world with an arrow in their chest or a sword through their back. I have no doubt that Prometheus and Huntress have heard your plight, and are doing everything they can to bring down whoever is committing these vile crimes against the people of the Glades. In the meantime, Queen Consolidated vows here and now to lend it's support to Glades Memorial until it can get back on it's feet."

Nathan put the megaphone down, and turned to Blood. "I suggest next time, Mr. Blood, you use a lot less of this," He made a motion with is hands to show talking before cupping both ears, "and a lot more of this." Nathan and Lyla walked back to his limo and drove off leaving a silent and stunned crowd behind.

 **Queen Consolidated**

 **CEO Office**

Nathan was feeling pretty good about himself right now. While he had had to do a lot of arguing with Isabel, he did eventually get her on board with his plan to help Glades Memorial. Now that he had some downtime, he was figuring out how the hijackers were getting a line on the goods earmarked for Glades Memorial.

He had a second computer up, running algorithms to try to figure out where this hacker, **Skyequake,** is. He needed to determine whether this person was friend or foe.

His thoughts were interrupted when Natalie brought him some documents he needed to sign. As he made to start signing, his phone went off. Seeing who it is, he answered with a bit of bite, "What do you want now, Waller?"

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Shado helped Nathan wash the blood off of his hands in the river._

 _"You saved my life." She told him._

 _He smiled humorlessly. "That's what I keep telling myself. That I killed them because they were going to kill you." He looked at her, pain in his eyes. "But I can't help but think…what if that's not the reason? I just feel like this island is…ripping away everything good about me, twisting me into something dark and evil."_

 _Shado dipped her hand into the river, cupping her hand. She raised it up and wiped the blood off of his face. "No island, no place, can turn you into something you're not." She gently and lovingly told him._

 _"So, what? I've always been a monster?" he asked in despair._

 _"Everyone has a demon inside of them." She replied, her words displaying wisdom beyond her years and love as her hand caressed his face. "The 'dao de jing' recognizes the yin and the yang. Opposing forces inside all of us. The darkness. And the light. The killer… and the hero."_

 _She pulled him down for a gentle kiss._

 _ **Flashback Lemon**_

 _After breaking their kiss, Shado pulled her top off and threw it onto the sand. Nathan took his black long sleeve shirt off and threw his shirt to the sand and wrapped his arm around her waist, and another around her back, pulling her in closer and deepening their kisses._

 _They continued to kiss each other while Shado's left hand slowly traveled south, running along his six-pack abs, stopping at his pants as she began to undo his belt and pants. Nathan's hands slid down her back and groped her sexy tight ass before his hands reached down and slipped her pants and panties down. They both pulled away for a little bit and threw the rest of their cloths onto the sand. They embraced each other with renewed fervor now both completely naked._

 _Shado continued to kiss Nathan while her hand slid back down to Nathan's cock and slowly began stroking it. Nathan kept kissing Shado while one hand slipped down to her nether region. He rubbed her pussy, playing with it for a few moments before inserting two of his fingers into her pussy._

 _"Oh yes, Nate," Shado said as she broke their kissing and Nathan moved to sucking on her breasts, "Just like that."_

 _After a few minutes of finger-fucking her, he introduced a third finger into her pussy. Shado was moaning from the pleasure she was receiving at the hands of her lover._

 _Nathan stopped sucking Shado's breasts and claimed her lips again in a French kiss easily dominating her tongue with his own._

 _She wasn't able to hold too long and screamed into his mouth when she was hit by an orgasm. He took his finger out her dripping pussy, drenched in her pussy juices and brought it to his mouth, savoring her taste._

 _"Mm, you're delicious," He whispered, his voice filled with lust for her. He gripped Shado by her ass and held her up in the air, her pussy lined up with his cock. He stared into her eyes, as if silently asking for permission._

 _"Do it," Shado whispered in his ear. Nathan nodded and plunged his cock right into Chinese woman, getting a load moan from her. He stood perfectly still, letting her adjust to his size. Once she had, she nodded to him and he began to pound away into her._

 _Shado moaned loudly as Nathan held her in the air by her sexy tight ass, his big cock thrusting in and out of her tight pussy. "Oh Shado, you're so tight," Nathan groaned as Shado wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to bring him further into her._

 _Within minutes, Shado was hit with another mind-numbing orgasm, her pussy clamping down tightly on her lovers rod as she came. Once her orgasm finished, Nathan carried her over to a smooth flat rock and lay his back on it, putting her in the cowgirl position._

 _Shado began to bounce up and down on his cock as he placed his hand on her waist enticing her further. "So big," She moaned as every time she bounced down, he hit her G-spot. Nathan began to thrust his hips upwards into her, driving his cock deeper inside of her._

 _After several minutes of this and feeling himself getting closer, Nathan sat up and held Shado's body tight against him as he pounded into her, "Shado, I'm close."_

 _"Inside. I want it inside." Shado moaned into his ear, feeling her own orgasm coming. After another minute, Shado was finally sent over the edge as her pussy tightened around Nathan's dick as she came, causing Nathan to finally let loose as he blew his load inside Shado's womb._

 _ **Flashback Lemon End**_

 _Shado panted as she laid her head on Nathan's shoulder. Nathan panted as well, running his hand through her hair. "I love you, Shado."_

 _Shado pulled her head off of her lover's shoulder and looked him in the eye, said eyes shining with love. "Truly?"_

 _"Yes", Nathan breathed, "I love everything about you. I love your kindness, your wisdom, your gentle soul, and how you're a total badass with a bow and arrow. I love everything about you. You're the first woman I have ever loved, Shado Gulong, and I know we are stuck on this island, but I want you to know that I love you."_

 _Shado's response was a tender and loving kiss on his lips. "I'm glad Nathan. It makes me so happy to know you feel the same way about me as I do about you."_

 _They rested their foreheads against each other, their eyes closed with smiles on their lips as the two basked in their love for each other._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Foundry**

 **Nighttime**

"What did you find, Nate?" Helena said as she came downstairs.

"FEMA is shipping 100,000 units of medical grade opiates to Glades Memorial." He said.

"When?" Helena asked.

"Truck is scheduled to leave the FEMA depot in 20 minutes."

"Not if this motorcycle gang has anything to say about it." Lyla said.

"Bad luck for them." Nathan replied. "I have something to say about it."

 **Fema Facility**

 **20 minutes later**

The drugs were being loaded onto the trucks, but in a departure from previous heists, the motorcycle riders stormed the facility. They opened fire, killing everyone they saw before coming to a stop in front of a pair of trucks. They got off and quickly reloaded, advancing on a hapless driver.

"No, no, no, please, please, don't shoot."

"Down!" Of course, then the Triad riders were shot in the head with arrows and Prometheus dropped down out of nowhere.

 **"Make your delivery!"** he ordered the driver, who nodded and jumped into his tuck. Before he could get all the way in, though, a knife pierced his neck, killing him.

"Prometheus." Prometheus looked up to see China White standing there. "I'm glad you made it. It gives me the opportunity to pay you back in full for your past interference in my business."

 **"Unlikely."** He drew and fired, but another figure dropped down between the two trucks, then blocked the arrows with a set of steel claws set into brass knuckles on his hands.

"I don't think my friend agrees with you." China White said. "Our new partnership was easily cemented. See, I was eager to see you dead, and he was eager to kill you."

" **You and I are going to have a chat after this is over Chien."** Nathan drew several more arrows and fired them, one after the other, but Bronze Tiger blocked each and every one.

"No kill shots?" he asked scathingly even as China White her way to a truck. "I was promised a fight. I hope you haven't lost your nerve."

 **"I have something far worse in mind than killing you."** Prometheus stated.

Chien made to get away with the truck but then Helena got in her way as they began to fight.

Bronze Tiger rushed him, swinging his claws in powerful arcs that the vigilante deflected with his bow. Nathan directed them between the side of the building and several steam pipes the limit his motion, but it also constrained the archer. Tiger knocked his bow away and the two locked arms, with the Tiger trying to push the claws into Prometheus chest. It didn't work though, as his shoulder was pierced by a bolt from Helena, who had already defeated Chien, who had escaped.

Nathan pushed him away after breaking his wrist, and knocking the distracted assassin off balance. Nathan pulled his bow back out and hit Bronze Tiger in the shoulder with a Taser Arrow. The Taser part immediately activated when it hit Ben, causing him to groan in pain before he fell unconscious.

It was then the police had arrived on the scene and deployed around the area.

"Starling City police!" Pike called out. "You're surrounded." Nathan and Helena looked over at the gathering of police- and saw Laurel right there with them. "Put down your weapons or we will open fire."

Prometheus withdrew a smoke bomb and threw it down, obscuring himself and Huntress. Then he withdrew a grappling arrow and fired it up, launching himself and his girlfriend into the gantry above as officers fired into the smoke.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Pike yelled. "Find him, he couldn't have gotten far."

Up above, Nathan and Helena looked down at the cops, watching as they carried Ben Turner away.

 **Verdant**

 **Later**

Upstairs in the club, Roy was sweeping the floor after closing. He looked up as Thea walked over.

"Great crowd tonight." He said.

She stared at him with arms crossed. "Now that we're closed, are you going to be starting your second shift?" she asked sarcastically. "Suicide by Chinese street thugs."

"Do you really want to talk about this again?" he asked, annoyed.

"We never finished talking about it. I wanted Laurel to arrest you." She admitted.

Roy stopped sweeping. "You know, you're not the first girlfriend to say that to me." He told her.

"She said I couldn't change you, so I'm not going to try to." Thea said, handing him two items.

Roy took them and looked at them in confusion. It was a paycheck, and the Hozen Nathan had given her. "What, so you're giving me money and a rock?"

"The check is two weeks' severance from the club." Thea said to his surprise. He looked up at her as she wiped away tears. "Just because I can't change you doesn't mean I have to let you be in my life until you get yourself killed." Roy scoffed. "And my brother gave me that when he came back from the dead." She continued, indicating the rock. "He said it was a Hozen, some Buddhist thing that symbolizes reconnecting. If you want to reconnect with me, keep the Hozen and tear up that check."

"I don't do too well with ultimatums." He told her.

"And I don't do all that great with people I love getting hurt. And worse." She replied, and then walked off, leaving Roy alone to think.

 **Nathan's Apartment**

 **Later**

Nathan was drinking some of his Woodford Reserve as Chien walked into the apartment, taking off her jacket.

"I'm not happy Chien." Nathan said as he finished his glass. "Stealing medicinal opiates for a hospital that desperately needs it. We never went that low when I was still in the Triad."

"Look, I know you're upset Nate, and I didn't want to do it either but I had to do something."

"Why?" Nathan asked as he walked over to her wrapping her in his arms, "Babe, talk to me."

"There were rumors spreading amongst the Triad lieutenants that I was weak and that someone should replace me. I had to do something that would calm them down."

"It's okay," He whispered as he kissed full on the lips, "I didn't realize I had left you in a vulnerable position as a leader. I'll take care of it."

"But in the meantime," Nathan as he cuffed her arms behind her back, surprising her, "I'm gonna have to punish you. The fun way, of course." He mischievously smirked as he carried her up to his bed, placing her on the edge of it.

 **Lemon**

"You've been a naughty girl, Chien." Nathan said as he kissed her for a moment before pulling away and biting her lower lip "You need to be taught a lesson."

"Well, why don't you come over here and teach me, Officer Queen." She said, slipping into roleplay.

Nathan nodded, before he pulled Chien into him and slammed his lips forcefully into hers. Nathan slipped his tongue into her mouth, dominating her as she wrapped her wrapped her legs around him, her arms still behind her back.

Nathan cupped her tight ass tightly as Chien worked her hips to grind her mound against the hard bulge in his pants, before she pulled away with his bottom lip in her teeth, before she released him

Nathan ripped her shirt off as threw it away before doing the same with her black bra, and he then took his pants and boxers off. His cock now free, he addressed "Time to start working off your sentence."

"Mmmm…if it's this, I suppose I could work enjoy working off my sentence." Chien cooed as she sucked his dick.

"Oh fuck," Nathan moaned as Chien sucked his cock into her hot mouth

Chien moaned as she twirled her tongue around the cockhead before concentrating on the piss slit and the sensitive spot directly beneath. Her beautiful full lips slid up and down Nathan's cock as she bobbed her head up and down. Nathan, combed his fingers through her long wavy white hair as he relaxed chair as the beautiful Triad leader pleasured him while kneeling between his spread legs. Slurping sounds filled the room as Chien sucked his cock while she stared into his eyes, before she took him all the way down till her nose was pressed into his pelvis, and unable to take it anymore, he moaned as he began to paint Chien's insides with his load.

Nathan sighed as he stopped cumming before he reached down and picked Chien up.

"Mr. Queen. Are you going to take advantage of me?" Chien asked with a sexy smirk on her beautiful face.

"You want that early parole or not?" Nathan asked, before he kissed her passionately and turned her around bent her over the bed, before he pulled her yoga pants down to see her sexy butt and he pulled down her black thong, and stood up

"Mmm," Chien moaned in anticipation as she felt Nathan place himself between her legs against her pussy.

"Brace yourself." Nathan whispered in her ear, as he began to nibble on her ear, before Chien gave a sharp gasp when she felt his cock head in it's true size at the entrance pussy before Nathan thrusted in with one hard thrust,

"Oh, Officer Queen," gasped Chien as she arched her back at the pleasure at having her pussy stretched to it's limit.

Nathan rested against Chien for a moment to let her adjust, groaning at how her pussy was gripping his cock tightly as it spasmed, before he began to slowly stroke in and out of the Triad Leader as she gripped the desk tightly. The length, speed and power behind Nathan's thrust increased gradually as he grunted in pleasure while fucking the woman from behind.

"Oh Officer, fuck me," urged Chien as she thrust her ass back at him , driving her cunt further around his cock.

Nathan began to suck on Chien's as he pounded into her, causing smacking noises bounce off the walls as his pelvis met Chien's ass, as he began fondle her breasts, while the woman pushed her ass into him meeting his thrust.

"Oh, my god." Chien moaned Nathan licked his way down her neck as he continued to take her before she slipped her hands out of the cuffs and reached up and took his cheek in hand, and looked back into his eyes as she placed her free hand onto the one gripping her breast "I Love you, Nathan."

Nathan smiled at Chien, before in a blur of speed, he turned her over into missionary position and looked her in the eyes, "I'm yours, and no one elses." Chien said, her abandonment issues with her parents being filled with Nathan who was showing her the only real love she had ever known "I'm always scared that one day I'm going to lose you."

"You will never lose me, I will be at your side whenever you need me, through thick and thin," Nathan smiled as he kissed her, and they interlaced their fingers and held hands.

Chien smiled before she slammed her lips into Nathan's who began to slam into her causing the desk to creak as Chien held onto his hands tightly as his hips became a blur, before after a few moments Chien seized up and began to tremble as she came, while Nathan continued to pound into her, before he gave a loud moan as he buried himself into Chien's stretched pussy and unleashed his load.

Chien continued to shake and moan under him as they both came, and kissed him.

 **Lemon End**

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Slade approached the river bank where Nathan and Shado, now mostly clothed again, were cuddling. Shado's head rested on Nathan's shoulder and they were holding hands._

 _"I don't even know how long it's been since I laughed." Nathan was saying. Slade watched them for a few moments, a look of sadness mixed with jealousy playing over his face, before he rose and moved away a small distance._

 _He turned his back and then called out, "Hey, kid. Shado."_

 _The two jumped up like kids being caught with their hands in the cookie jar and rapidly put on the rest of their clothes. "Yeah, just, um… We were just washing off." Nathan yelled back._

 _"Well, you better prepare to get dirty again." Slade said, walking down towards them. "I think I figured out where those men were headed. It's a couple of clicks northwest of here." The two looked at him, slightly ashamed. "Well, let's go." He said finally, moving off. Olive and Shado moved behind him as he walked._

 _"Be careful." Slade advised Nathan as they walked. "Don't fall too hard."_

 _"Why not?" he asked. "To make sure there isn't part of this island that isn't a living hell?"_

 _"To survive." Slade said with a grin. "She's a distraction, and in a place like this, a distraction's going to cloud your judgment. And that is what's going to get you killed." Slade looked back at Nathan. "Look at what this island has already done to you, kid."_

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **QC's rooftop**

 **Next night**

On the rooftop of Queen Consolidated building stood a lone woman. This woman was Daisy Johnson, the woman who was secretly the hacker who went by the name of **SkyeQuake.** She was looking around as the **Nine-Tailed Fox** said he was going to meet her here but now she felt that she had been stood up as she had been waiting for almost 10 minutes.

" **Looking for someone. I imagine you would be, Ms. Johnson,"** came a modulated voice as she whirled around to see it was Prometheus, " **Though I imagine in certain circles, you prefer SkyeQuake."**

"No way," Daisy said with excitement and some trepidation, since while she did want to meet her hero, she's a bit nervous, especially considering his reputation, "Prometheus is **Nine-Tailed Demon Fox**."

" **Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Who would have thought the new IT girl in QC is a secret hacker."** Prometheus greeted before his demeanor changed. **"Still it begs the question. Are you a friend or are you a foe?"**

"What? What you mean?" Daisy asked.

" **What I mean is the last time my master or I considered recruiting a potential hacker, she turned out to not be what we wanted."** Prometheus explained, **"Now you are a hackitivist, but you haven't done anything to be hurtful to the American public and national security, so your still clear for now."**

"I always believed in the freedom of information. Watching you work is what inspired me to be a hacktivist in the first place. But I never put the US national security at risk. I never put out information that could hurt millions of innocent people or even a few people. Mostly just harmless stuff.

" **And you don't care about the fact that I drop bodies?"** Prometheus asked casually.

"It does kinda bug me a bit." Daisy admitted before she continued, "But that's only I've never killed people before. I watched my father get gunned down when I was a child and my mother abducted. It why I learned about computer and hacking. I wanted to find what happened to her."

" **This doesn't seem like something you would typically tell someone."** Prometheus said.

"I'm telling you this because I want to help you. I want you to trust me." She admitted.

" **I don't immediately trust people with my deepest secrets,"** Prometheus started, making Daisy face change into a disappointed and sad expression before he continued, " **Doesn't mean I'm not willing to give you a chance to prove that I can trust you."**

"How can I help?" Daisy asked, her previous disappointment gone.

" **There are a few people I need to find. Some bad people that need to be taught the fear of god."** Prometheus said.

 **Abandoned Warehouse**

In the morning, the heads of the Triad's Lieutenants could be found in a duffel bag.

 **DA's Office**

Laurel was working late in the D.A.'s office. She was alone, looking over her next case file when the lights suddenly went out.

 **"Hello, Ms Lance."** A familiar, distorted voice said.

"You." Laurel said to the vigilante.

 **"I figured we should talk."**

"Fine." Laurel turned to face him. "Turn that thing off and pull back your hood."

 **"I don't see any reason to. I'm not your enemy."** He told her. **"Last time I checked, you didn't care so much about what my mentor did. You two understood each other."**

"I understand that you're a criminal, and mass murderer." She said. "And you think the law doesn't apply to you- it does."

 **"Not when the system is corrupt. The law doesn't work when the rich and corrupt members of society twist it to benefit themselves while they step on the throats of those less fortunate than them."** He pointed out. " **You don't need me to tell you that your heart isn't truly in this. You don't hate me. You're just sad that your beloved Tommy died and coming after me is your way of dealing with that sense of loss that you feel."**

She sniffled, trying to ignore what he said. "I don't think you wear that hood because you're a hero. I think you wear it to hide that you're a coward, and I promise you, I will see you unmasked, prosecuted and sent to prison." She promised, before turning away from him. "Don't ever speak to me again."

He left after that.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Slade, Nathan and Shado were moving quickly through the forest, following Slade's lead. Suddenly he paused, looked down at the map- and the photo that was attached to it, then looked back up. "To those men, this location could have been on any one of 150 different islands." He said, then turned back to his friends with a smile. "But for somebody who knows this island like he knows his own name…"_

 _"So those men were looking for this place." Shado said, looking around. "Why?"_

 _"That would be the question." Slade said._

 _"Slade." The pair turned to Nathan, who had moved a short distance off. "Over here." He pointed. Slade looked, and saw that there was a cave there, whose entrance was concealed behind thick vines. Slade put the map away and took out his K-Bar, then cautiously entered the cave. Inside he found a small area that had been converted into a rudimentary living area. On the ground, though, he saw skeletons dressed in Japanese uniforms with misshapen skulls._

 _Nathan knelt beside one of the bodies._

 _"Their skulls are misshapen." Shado noted._

 _"What happened to these people?" Nathan wondered aloud._

 _Slade bent over and picked up a samurai sword. "Whatever did happen to them was over 60 years ago." He said, looking at the rusted sword. "These soldiers belong to the Japanese Imperial Army."_

 _"They've been here since World War II." Shado said._

 _"We're missing something here." Slade said as Nathan examined another of the bodies. Around the neck he found a stone arrowhead with markings carved into it. He pulled it off and looked at it curiously._

 _"You don't just come here for corpses." Slade finished, looking around for more clues._

 _Nathan was examining the bodies when he picked up a sheathed Shin Gunto. He unsheathed it and examined the blade. Seeing that it was still in good condition he resheathed it and held onto it._

 _ **Flashback End**_

Back in the present, Roy was taking out some trash behind Verdant when he suddenly sensed he wasn't alone. He knelt down, depositing the glass bottles as he subtly reached into his pocket. In one fluid movement, he withdrew the arrow, rose, and spun around, flinging the projectile-

Right at Prometheus, who caught it by placing his finger in the shuriken's hole.

Roy stared, stunned, before he finally found his voice. "I've been looking for you."

 **"You should probably stop. I do kill a lot of criminals, after all."** Prometheus said.

"I don't care about that! You saved my life!" Roy said. "Made me realize that what I had, wasn't much of a life." He admitted. "But I could do what others couldn't, or too afraid to do. I could help you save the city."

 **"You have not been trained."** Prometheus said.

"I can fight." Roy protested.

" **You know how to take a beating."** The vigilante shot back. " **There is** **a difference."**

"Then teach me! Let me help you." Roy begged.

Prometheus walked slowly towards him. **"Ok."** He said after a moment of silence. **"There is a way you can help me. But not by taking on the Triad or the cops."**

"Then how?"

 **"To do what I do, I need intel. My info on the Glades isn't the greatest. You can be my eyes and ears in the Glades."** He offered. **"That's how you can save help me save the city."**

"How do I contact you?" Roy asked.

Prometheus tossed back the Shuriken. Prometheus then pulled out a red phone and tossed it Roy, which he caught. " **It's an untraceable phone. If you find something, call me when you're alone. This way, you can help me protect this city, but you don't have to risk your relationship with your girlfriend either."**

Roy bent down to retrieve the Shuriken. "Are you sure it's all right that I keep this?" he asked, looking up- but Prometheus was gone. He grinned in disbelief.

 **Verdant**

"If I want to be with you, do I keep that or give it back?" he asked Thea as he walked up to her. "You were a little unclear."

She looked at him hopefully. "You mean it?"

"No more fighting." He promised. "If it's a choice between life with you or life without you, life with you will win every single time." She smiled at him. "I'm done trying to be a hero." Thea rose and gently kissed him on the lips before embracing her boyfriend. Roy retuned the hug gratefully, even as he felt the weight of the shuriken in his back pocket.

 **DA's Office**

Later that night, Laurel was working late again at the D.A.'s office when, once again, the lights went out.

"I told you to stay away from me." She said, spinning around to see Prometheus standing in the darkened office.

Nathan activated the voice changer. **"I thought you might have changed your mind after I stopped the men terrorizing our city."**

"This isn't your city." Laurel said sharply. "It's your killing fields."

 **"Oh, and putting criminals in prison suddenly works?"** Prometheus noted.

"Well, don't worry, your life is over." Laurel said, grinning coldly. She held up a small device for him to see- a signaling device. "Your life as a free man."

She pressed the button, and instantly the Task Force warmed into the office. They surrounded the vigilante, cutting off all avenues of escape. He drew and arrow and nocked it, turning slowly to face each of the cops- but there were always more at his back. He was well and truly trapped.

"I told you to stay away." Laurel said smugly. "Somehow I knew you wouldn't listen."

 **Chapter End**

 **I know Skye got a bit of an odd intro, but I've been working on big projects for college, writing 8 page reports, and studying for finals, so I haven't had a lot of time to get this done and when I finished a I just wanted to post it.**


	22. Chapter 22 - The other vigilante

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth 2 Laurel Lance/ Black Siren (eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Dinah Drake, McKenna Hall**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller, Earth 0 Laurel**

 **So I switched around Earth 2 Laurel with Earth 0 Version. I was flipping around on this issue a lot but I think I'm gonna go with this. Nathan and E0 Laurel will not end up together.**

 **Chapter 22 – The other vigilante**

"Well, don't worry, your life is over." Laurel said, grinning coldly. She held up a small device for him to see- a signaling device. "Your life as a free man."

She pressed the button, and instantly the Task Force warmed into the office. They surrounded the vigilante, cutting off all avenues of escape. He drew an arrow and nocked it, turning slowly to face each of the cops- but there were always more at his back. He was completely surrounded.

"Put your weapon down." Laurel demanded.

Nathan looked around at the cops, then back to Laurel. **"I'm not your enemy."** He told her.

"Then put your weapon down." She said. Nearly ten seconds pass before Nathan comes to a decision.

" **Okay, okay. I am putting down the bow."** Nathan said as he slowly un-nocked his arrow, sticking it back in his quiver. He slowly knelt on one knee, setting the bow down on the ground.

"Hands behind your head!" One of the SWAT guys shouted. Nathan slowly raised his hands. They very nearly touched his head.

Then, a ball appeared in each hand. He slammed both hands down to the grounds filling the entire floor with thick smoke, so thick that you couldn't see your own hand if you held it to your face. Grabbing his bow and holstering it, Nathan began to savagely beat the entire Task Force to a pulp.

"Where is he?" One asked before a savage right hook knocked him out.

"Find him!" One yelled before Nathan grabbed his arm, punched him hard in the crotch, dropping him to the floor before knocking him out.

"I can't see anything!" before that one was silenced by a roundhouse kick.

"SOMEBODY HELP!" One yelled as he was hit in the back of the head.

After a minute, the smoke slowly faded and when it did, only Laurel and Nate were left standing. Every single task force member was on the floor, most unconscious and some groaning, but alive.

" **Now, if I was really the murderer people accuse me of, then why would I be letting any of you live?"** Nate pointed out.

A couple of them got back up and aimed their weapons at him.

And then suddenly a figure dropped through the skylight. She landed right in front of Nathan- who backed away in surprise- in a crouch, then withdrew a round device and activated it. A piercing sound emanated from it, making cops and Laurel cover their ears and shattering every pane of glass in the room, and causing his ear's to bleed. She turned it off and touched the slightly disoriented Nathan on the arm then turned and ran with him towards the shattered windows. They leapt out into the night as the few conscious cops regained their senses.

The woman led Prometheus to a side alley, and Nathan finally got a good look at her. She was a little shorter than him, dressed in black leather pants and halter top that enhanced her rather impressive cleavage, topped off with a short leather jacket. Her hair was long and blonde, and most of her face was hidden behind a mask. It was her eyes though, that seemed familiar.

She moved off on her own, now ignoring the other vigilante.

 **"Nice mask."** He told her. **"Why'd you help me?"**

The woman looked over her shoulder, but then without saying a word effortlessly leapt up onto a fire escape, disappearing into the night.

 **Lair**

 **Later**

As Nathan walked in, Helena turned and sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God." She said as she hugged her lover.

"Police scanner's been blowing up for the past hour." Lyla told him as they shared a kiss. "Laurel called in half the force with that silent alarm."

"Yeah, because going after actual bad guys is apparently beneath them now." Helena added with some bite.

"To her, I am the bad guy." Nathan said as he hung up his bow.

"Since when?

"Her coming after me is just a way for her to deal with Tommy's death." Nathan said.

"How did you get out of there?" Lyla asked.

"I fought my way out. And I had help from a masked blonde woman in black." Nathan said as he pulled off his quiver.

"Another copycat vigilante?" Helena asked.

"No." Nathan said definitively. "She was different. Highly trained, and she used some sort of sonic device."

"Wait, what kind of device?" Lyla asked.

"She turned it on and the glass shattered. Not to mention, made my enhanced eardrums bleed."

She blinked. "Ok, well, who was she and why would she help you? And how did she know to help you?"

Nathan put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "All good questions." He told her. "I'm not sure I like the idea of a potentially rouge element in town."

"I'll see what I can find from Argus." Lyla promised.

"Babe, what I would like to know is what you're doing at Laurel's office in the first place." Helena pressed. "She makes you public enemy number one and you figure this is a good time to chat?"

"Because I wanted to try to dissuade her from the path she's on. And I wanted to see if we might be able to work together." Nathan replied. "Suffice to say, we can't. Laurel will always be someone I care for, but she is not my ally in this fight against corruption."

"And what about that hacker of yours?" Lyla asked as she was leaving. "You planning to pull another Felicity Smoak?"

"No," Nathan shook his head, "Felicity Smoak was a danger to the people and the Nation. This Daisy Johnson is just misguided. She can learn to use her talents with computer's for the greater good. I will make sure of it."

 **Flashback**

 _The boys had dragged one of the skeletal bodies back to the fuselage, and they laid it down on top of a crate so that Shado could examine it._

 _"Wonderful." Slade said sarcastically. "Now we have a dead Japanese soldier in our home."_

 _"A phrase I never thought I would ever hear." Nathan quipped._

 _"Those men on the island were looking for these corpses." Shado said as she examined the bones in better light. "Aren't you the least bit interested in why?"_

 _"I'm more interested in how many more there are of them and where they're operating from." Slade replied, gathering some gear together. "They'll be coming for that, which means they'll be coming for us. And as we've already seen, they're not the friendliest bunch."_

 _Nathan examined his unsheathed sword, noting that this blade, unlike the others, had no rust or wear on it and was still sharp as he ran his finger along it slightly._

 _"Where did you get that?" Slade asked._

 _"I took it off one of the dead soldiers. He didn't exactly need it." Nathan said._

 _Nathan looked at Shado as she continued to examine the body. "You seem to know what you're doing with that." He noted._

 _"Back in Xingjian, I was pre-med." She replied absently._

 _"She's a woman of many talents." Slade said, throwing a pack to Nathan. "Come on."_

 _"'Come on' where?" Nathan asked._

 _"To higher ground." Slade replied. "We need to get to a vantage point where we can establish the enemy's position."_

 _"What about Shado?" Nathan asked, concerned about splitting up. It was probably cause he saw more than a few horror movies, but generally splitting up in a situation like this is not a good idea._

 _"I'll be fine here." She told him with a smile, trying to reassure the man she loved._

 _"We still shouldn't split up." Nathan said, conflicted._

 _"Let her play with her corpse." Slade said. "We'll be back before she knows it." Slade moved off. Nathan relented but not before giving Shado a quick kiss, and then turned to follow Slade._

 **Flashback End**

The new Officer Lance was buying a hotdog from a street vendor.

"Here you go, Bud." The vendor said, handing him the dog. "On the house, Officer Lance."

"Hey, no, no, no," Lance objected, handing him the money for the food. "Here you go, a dog this delicious? I'd have to book myself for robbery." He said with a smile. "Take it."

"All right." The vendor said, reluctantly taking the money. "Take care."

Lance walked back to his cruiser, hot dog in hand. He heard the radio sound off and he reached in through his opened window and grabbed it off of the dash.

"All units, 10-78 at Second and Fletcher. Please respond."

Lance threw the hot dog into the trash as he climbed into his cruiser.

"Lance, patrol Delta Charlie 52, 10-60 Officer responding. Over."

"Negative, DC-52." Lance frowned at the radio. "Disregard 10-78 and resume patrol."

"According to whose orders?" Lance demanded.

"Lieutenant Pike." Lance put the radio down and let out a sigh.

Ten minutes later Lance had arrived at the crime scene. He hurried towards the tape, looking for a friendly cop. Finally, he found one- McKenna Hall, the rising star detective in SCPD.

"Excuse me." He said, getting Hall's attention. "Hall, what is going on here, huh? This is my beat. Why did Pike wave me off of this?" he demanded.

"Officer Lance, it's under control." Hall said, trying to stop him as he stormed past her.

"Excuse me, what is under control?" he asked, then stopped cold. There was a girl, in her late teens or early twenties, dead. More than that, she was strung up on a steel framework.

"That's Barton Mathis." Lance said in a raspy voice, memories of his previous victims coming back to Lance after years of being locked away in his memory.

"That seems to be what the M.O. indicates." Hall said.

"He's doing consecutive life sentences in Iron Heights." Lance snarled.

"Not anymore." Hall replied. "Mathis was declared criminally insane and was being transferred to Arhkam when he escaped after someone hit his convoy. The guards transporting him were completely slaughtered. The top brass wants to avoid a panic, so they're keeping it quiet." She explained.

"Are they keeping it quiet from me, too?" Lance demanded.

"Look, Lance." Hall said. "Pike knows what happened to you last time. The man got in your head."

"Yeah, and I caught him." Lance shot back. "And no one knows Mathis better."

"And I've got all your notes and your files." Hall replied. "Pike's order. If you go anywhere near this, he's going to have you arrested for obstruction."

Lance sighed in frustration, and then stalked off, pausing only to look at the latest victim.

 **Lair**

 **One hour later**

Nathan and Helena were sparing on the floor; wrestling on mats that Nathan had laid out in the center of the room while Lyla continued to search for information on the new vigilante.

"I found a number of police reports from the last few months that may involve our mystery girl." she said finally, drawing the other's attention. "They describe a masked woman in black attacking attackers." she spun her chair around to face them. "She permanently disabled five would-be rapists so far."

"Are you sure it's her?" Nathan asked, coming over to take a look.

"Broken limbs, shattered spines, ruptured ear drums. Your sonic device." Lyla pointed out.

"That's her." Nathan said, studying the data. "She's targeting criminals."

"Misogynist criminals." Lyla clarified.

"First the hoods, now her. Looks like you started a movement." Helena said.

"I don't want to start a movement, so we need to catch her." Nate said firmly. "I'm not letting the city get overrun with vigilantes."

One of Nate's phones began ringing. He looked down at it, then picked it up and answered it. "Hello, McKenna." He began as Lyla and Helena looked at him in surprise.

 **Rooftop**

 **30 minutes later**

Later that night, Detective Hall walked up onto the roof of the SCPD building. She looked around, and then found who she was looking for.

Nathan approached Hall. **"I'm glad to hear from you, Detective. Congrats on that, by the way."** McKenna nodded in thanks. " **So, are you positive you want to work with me on the side? I know this was a bit of a thing of hesitance when it came to my former master."**

"Let's just say I've had my eyes opened." Hall said finally. "This city, has been dying for nearly 30 years. You know, I honestly can't remember a time growing when I didn't think this city was slowly dying. And the police?" she sighed. "Before the Arrow, I used to think we didn't need to go outside of law to find justice. But then the Arrow shows up, and things started to actually get better. Sorry about him, by the way." Prometheus nodded, acknowledging the apology.

" **He loved this city. He was more than happy to die in it's defense."** Prometheus said.

"Now, I know you've been killing a lot of people since his death. I've did some digging of my own, and I know that none of these people are good."

She lifted the file she was carrying, and then set it down on top of an air duct. "Barton Mathis." she said as Prometheus picked up the file to look through it. "The media calls him the Doll Maker. Because he suffocates his victims with some sort of flexible polymer that he pours down their throats and then he dresses them up like dolls. " She said. "He was on his way to Arkham Asylum over in Gotham when someone hit his convoy, so now he's out and he's killing again."

Nathan looked at the photos of the previous victims, and then noticed the dates. **"These are from six years ago."** he said.

"That's his personal file. Officer Lance put him away about 3 months after the Queen's Gambit went down." Hall replied.

 **"Is this personal for you?"** Nathan pointed out.

"Mathis killed eight girls before Lance got him. I don't want any on my conscience if I can help it."

Prometheus paused before he asked. **"So why don't you let the police do their job?"**

Hall sighed and said, "I've had to learn the hard way that sometimes to get justice, and make this city safe, sometimes you have to go outside the law."

 **Later**

Nathan constructed the file into computer text and pulled out of his blocked phones. " **So, I got something for ya."**

"Aww, and here I was beginning to think you had forgotten me." Daisy purred.

" **No, I just been busy. You know, killing bad guys, saving the city, the usual."** Nathan said, " **Hey, do you mind if I call you Skye when we're talking like this? I mean, I know SkyeQuake is your hacker tag, but Skye just rolls of the tongue better."**

"You can call me whatever you want." Daisy/ Skye said with a flirty tone. "So, what are you wearing?"

" **Black full-body leather/ Kevlar-weave hybrid suit. Twin titanium steel alloy chokuto's."**

"You really stink at this, don't you?" Skye said with a bit of disappointment.

" **Look, normally I'd be more than happy to flirt with a beautiful woman like yourself,"** That brought the smile back to her face, " **But right now I got a deranged serial killer on the loose in my city that's targeting young beautiful women. I need help finding him. Before he kills anybody else. Like you"**

 **Downtown**

 **Same time**

Somewhere downtown, a young woman had just left a boutique. She walked briskly to her car, alone in the dark. She hit her keyfob to unlock the doors, and then paused as she felt someone watching her. She looked around nervously, but saw nothing. Shaking it off, she got into her car and shut the door, never seeing the man who was sitting in her back seat.

Barton Mathis shot forward, clamping his hand over the woman's mouth. "You have such beautiful skin." He told her.

 **Lair**

 **Next day**

Nathan walked back in from a quick patrol and immediately called Skye, putting phone on speaker. " **Hall's file give you anything?"** he asked Daisy.

"Last time the Doll Maker was active in Starling City, he ramped up to one kill every three days." Skye said.

 **"That gives us two to catch him."** Nathan stated, putting the phone on speaker. **"Can we connect the victims?"**

Lyla pulled up photos of the victims on the digital board. They were all young and pretty. "Young. Pretty. According to Lance's file, he couldn't figure out how he chose them. As if porcelain dolls weren't creepy enough all on their own." Skye said, looking at the photos from her end.

"Barton Mathis also doesn't have any family or known acquaintances." Skye said. Nathan took up position at the third screen. "Lone wolves, I imagine, are harder for you to catch."

 **"But they all have the right to an attorney**." Nathan noted. **"Thanks for the help, Skye. We'll be in touch."**

Nathan hung up and pulled out his normal phone. "I gotta call McKenna. Tell her to set up a meeting for tonight."

"Where?" Helena asked.

"At the office of whoever represented Barton Mathis."

"Smart, go to the one person that has a connection to Mathis." Lyla noted.

"So… I'm assuming this takes priority over finding out the identity of your secret admirer." Helena stated.

Nathan grabbed his bow. "I got that lead covered." He said.

 **Verdant**

 **Back Alley**

 **Night time**

Roy was taking out the glass recyclables. He paused when he felt his special phone vibrate.

"Hey." Roy said as he answered. "I was wondering when I was going to hear from you again."

 **"There's someone new in town-a blonde woman dressed in black leather**." The Prometheus said without preamble. **"She's targeting men who target women."**

"I know. I've seen her." He said, surprising Nathan.

 **"Find where she lays her head at night, but don't engage."** He told the younger man. **"You leave that to me."** Roy nodded, and Nathan hung up.

 **Iron Heights**

 **Same time**

Thea hugged her mother as she came to visit. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"Oh, Thea, you have to stop asking me that every time you come to visit." Moira replied, as Thea lead her over to one of the visitor's tables.

"Ah, don't count on it." Thea replied.

"Well, then, I'm afraid you'll be asking me that for the next 25 to life." Moira quipped.

"Please don't talk like that." Thea asked sadly.

"Thea, there's not a lot of value in the power of positive thinking when you're being put on trial for attempted mass murder." Moira pointed out.

"Let's just try to take things one step at a time, ok?" Thea said, lifting up the clothes she had laid on the table and showing her mother.

"Well, I'd have to check with my lawyer, but I don't think retail therapy is a viable legal strategy." Moira noted wryly.

"Well, I spoke with her, and she said that you can wear regular clothes to your pre-trial hearing." Thea said, laying the clothes back on the table. "So I picked these."

"Hmm." Moira sighed. "I wish the fashion police was all I had to worry about." She said.

"Please don't joke." Thea pleaded.

"Thea, listen to me." Moira aid, placing her hands on Thea's shoulders. "I need you to understand what's happening here. Everyone in the Glades could have died, so there is a measure of guilt that is owed me. I'm ready to accept my punishment." Moira told her.

"Even if that means spending the rest of your life in here?" Thea asked.

"Yes." She said, and then embraced her daughter.

 **Daniels Office**

 **1 hour later**

It was late, and Tony had the lights off as he prepared to leave when Hall walked in.

"Tony Daniel?" Hall asked.

"Help you with something, Detective?" he replied as he continued to pack up his briefcase to head home for the day.

"Barton Mathis." Hall announced. "According to the D.A.'s office, you handled his post-trial appeals, and I'd like to know where he is."

"Iron Heights prison." Tony replied.

"He got out." Mckenna drawled.

"What? How?" he was either feigning it, or he was genuinely surprised.

"You spent hours with him. Where would he run?" McKenna glared.

Tony looked like he wanted to refuse but McKenna was a detective and he didn't want to be arrested for obstruction of justice, so he told her. "There-there is another place." He said finally. "He was always drawing it. Sketching. His cell walls were covered with the place."

"What's the place?" Hall demanded. "Was it in Starling City?"

"Yeah." Tony replied. "The Bisque Museum. He said the building reminded him of Germany. Where porcelain dolls were invented."

 **Glades**

 **20 minutes later**

Just down the road was a two-story brick apartment house, advertising rooms for rent. Inside the building Hall and the Prometheus moved cautiously down the hall.

"The lady at the desk said a guy matching Mathis' description checked in last week, room 52." Hall told her new 'partner'. "And he paid in cash. Now listen," she added, "just so we're clear, when we go through that door, we're here to arrest Mathis, ok, not to kill him."

 **"You asked for my help."** Prometheus said.

"Yeah, and that wasn't easy, and neither is aiding and abetting." Hall said "And I am still a cop."

 **"Do you want to stop this guy or not?"** The Prometheus asked.

Hall let out a long breath, then drew her sidearm. "Let's go." She said, leading the way. She reached the door and kicked it open, leading the way with her gun. She scanned the room, finding it empty of occupants- save for a small porcelain doll set up in front of a small table. On the front of the doll was an article clipped from an old Starling City Star newspaper with the headline 'Dollmaker Captured' over a photo of a younger Lance bringing Mathis in. On the table was a small tv and a remote that had a not saying, "Turn me on".

Hall stared at the remote for several moments before finally picking it up.

"Detective Hall." Barton's face said as it appeared on the screen. "Pleasure to finally meet you."

Nathan activated his com-link, activating a separate channel so he could speak with Skye directly. **"Skye, trace that signal."** He said quietly.

"On it." She said.

"Barton Mathis," Hall said at the screen.

"I was hoping for Detective Lance. He and I are due for a reckoning, but I'll settle for you right now," Mathis said with a smile in his voice. "I must say, fresh air agrees with me."

"Yeah, well, don't get too used to it." Hall said. "You've been caught before. It's just a matter of time before I catch you."

"Fair enough." The insane man replied. "In the meantime, however, I have someone who'd like to say hello to you. Say hello, dear." Hall heard a girl shrieking and crying onto the screen, and she grimaced. "She's a little inarticulate." Mathis said by way of an apology.

"She's done nothing to you. Don't hurt her, just let her go." Hall requested.

"And allow her to wither away in a mediocre and forgettable life?" Mathis stated/ asked. "No. No, no, no, no, no. She deserves so much better." In the factory where he had set himself up, he walked over to table and picked up a large plastic container of the liquefied polymer uses on his victims. "She deserves to see her beauty preserved." He continued as he walked back to the girl. She was strapped upright to a table, her arms held out to her sides. In her mouth was a plastic tube that was attached to a small, empty reservoir at the other end.

"Pristine. Forever. Don't worry. I will turn her into something special." He stepped up onto a stool and poured the polymer in to the tank, and it slowly worked its way down the tube towards its inevitable destination. "Pay close attention, Detective." Mathis taunted as Hall watched on helplessly on the other end. "What comes next is really quite exquisite. The sound of an esophagus slowly hardening." He heard the girl shrieking in the background. "Like a symphony."

Nate heard the panicked screeching and activated his com link. " **Skye**!" he urged.

"I'm trying, but he's somehow blocking the trace." She told him.

"Barton, don't do it." McKenna pleaded. "I'm begging you, ok? Is that what you want? I am begging you. Stop!"

In the factory, Mathis pulled out the tub and moved the stand with the tank away. "It's for the world to enjoy. After all, everyone loves a pretty doll." He said, admiring his work. In the apartment, Hall threw the remote at the wall in defeat.

Sometime later that night, Hall rolled up to Mathis' new crime scene. She got out of her cruiser and stared at the victim sadly.

 **Lair**

In the Lair, Nathan finally returned and Helena updated him. "The police found her body an hour ago." She said.

"Does the new victim give us any forensics we can use?" Nathan asked.

"CSI did a complete forensics work-up, but they sent everything out to a private lab. Granger Labs." Lyla said.

 **One Hour later**

 **"Can it be hacked? I already tried but I haven't had much luck on my end."** Nathan asked Skye.

"No." Skye said, still feeling dejected about not catching Mathis. "They keep their system's offline. It's a precaution against hacking."

" **Then we'll have to do this old school**." Nathan decided.

 **Granger Labs**

 **Next Night**

A security guard was making the rounds when suddenly he was hit with a tranq dart. He dropped to the ground within seconds. As soon as he was out, Prometheus and Huntess rounded the corner with McKenna in tow.

"So glad you invited me to tag along." The cop said, stepping over the guard's body as they entered the main lab.

 **"Tranq dart."** Nathan told him. **"He'll be out for about an hour."**

Prometheus plugged a device into the mainframe, then stepped back and activate his com-link. " **You're up, Skye."**

"So, this is what a typical night's like for you two?" Hall asked. "Just a little breaking and entering."

"All right, I got toxicology first." Skye said. In the lab, the results also came up on the screens there.

Hall looked at them in confusion. "What are all these?" she asked.

 **"Chemical ingredients of all the make-up found on the victims- skin cream, nail polish, lipstick."** Helena explained.

Hall spotted something familiar suddenly. "Wait, wait, wait, stop." She ordered. "Scroll back. Scroll back." Skye did so, and Hall pointed at the screen, despite the fact that she couldn't see. "This one." She said one the one she had highlighted. "Ethyl paraben. Sodium laureth sulphate. I think I've seen this before." She said.

"It's skin cream." Skye explained. "Forensics found traces of it on her fingers. Probably something she used before he grabbed her."

"Skin cream." McKenna racked her brain. "Mermaid something. One of the victims from his last run, she had this in her purse and Lance had the lab analyze it, and it's the same formula." She said.

Nathan realized that Hall was on to something. **"Skye."** He urged.

"Already on it." She said, going back to Hall's digitalized file. After five seconds, she pulled up the label of the skin cream, and displayed it at the lab. Hall looked at it in stunned amazement.

"How does she do that?" she wondered. Under his hood, Nathan smiled amused.

"Ethyl paraben and sodium laureth sulphate is Mermaiden's proprietary formula." Skye explained.

 **"Two victims with the same taste in skin cream."** Huntress said. **"That's no coincidence."**

"Lance could never figure out how he chose his victims." Hall said as the realization struck her. It had already stuck Prometheus.

 **"I think you just did."** He told the cop.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan and Slade were still heading for higher ground, but Nathan was still worried about Shado._

 _"We shouldn't have split up." He said, voicing his well-known opinion._

 _"Well, it's her life. It's her choice." Slade replied tiredly as they continued up the hill. "You should listen to my advice."_

 _"What advice?" Nathan asked._

 _"To avoid attachment." Slade reiterated._

 _"Yeah. Because that's such **great** advice." Nathan replied sarcastically._

 _"But it will save your life." Slade said._

 _"Maybe, but that not a life worth living." Nathan countered._

 _"Yeah, well, maybe you're an idiot." Slade said._

 _"And maybe you need to look in the mirror." Nathan snarked causing Slade to turn around to face him._

 _"What was that?" Slade asked with a dangerous tone._

 _"You heard me." Nathan growled at Slade. "Let me set the record straight since we are finally alone. I am not blind to the fact you've been flirting with her for the last few months. Shado may not care or honestly doesn't see that you're into her, but **news flash**. You're not her boyfriend."_

 _"You're old enough to be her father. Maybe if I wasn't here, she'd go for you. God knows that girls' an angel with a heart of gold. But she loves me and I love her in return. And you need to bury this jealousy towards me before it gets one of us killed."_

 _"Me? Jealous?" Slade scoffed._

 _"Did you think I didn't see you in the tree line earlier?" Nathan asked rhetorically, to Slade's mild surprise._

 _"You're letting your affection for her blind you to our goal; to get off this bloody island." Slade retorted._

 _"I am not the one who's letting my affection for the woman that I love hinder my ability to think clearly." Nathan countered, "We are trying to figure out who the hell these mercenaries are, and we have no idea what kind of weapons they have or how many of them there are. For all we know, it's the same guy who hired Fyers sending in more people to get the job done. What happens if they find the plane and decide to blow it up? It's a stupid idea to split up when we have no fucking clue who we are dealing with."_

 _"And for the record," Nathan finished, "Only a weak man avoids attachment. A **real** man embraces it."_

 _"I was wrong about you." Slade said, once he had gotten over the shock of hearing that Shado loved the kid. "You're definitely an idiot." He finished with a smirk._

 _"Then that's who I am." Nathan stated plainly. Slade scoffed and turned to continue climbing. "I'm not changing just because that bothers you." He continued._

 _Slade took another step, and then slipped on some loose rocks. He let out a surprised "Ohh!" as he slipped over the edge of the very steep, very sheer cliff. Nathan dropped down immediately and grasped the older man's hands, preventing him from falling to his death._

 _"What was that about avoiding attachment again?" Nathan stated rhetorically, grunting as he began to pull Slade back up to solid ground. Slowly but surely, he did._

 ** _Flashback end_**

 **Glades**

 **Daytime**

Roy, carrying a small crate with a couple of bottles of wine pilfered from Verdant, walked up to a bazar of sorts, where looters and burglars from all over Starling made their way there to fence their stolen goods. The owner, Louis, looked up and smiled as Roy walked over to him.

"Harper." He said pleasantly. "It's been a while, hoss."

"I've been busy." Roy said, hefting the crate slightly.

"I can see that." Louis looked over the wine. "I'll give you a hundred."

"Four." Roy countered.

"Two-five." Louis said.

Roy looked at the man. "Done." He said, handing over the liquor. "If you throw in some information." Louis scoffed, but Roy pressed on. "Come on, man, you've got your finger on the pulse." Roy said as Louis put the wine in the back of his van. "I'm looking for someone. A blonde, likes black leather."

"Sounds like your type." Louis said.

"And beats the crap out of guys with a bow staff." Roy finished.

Louis chuckled. "That still sounds like your type."

"But I want to put eyes on her. What do you know?" Roy asked.

Louis pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and climbed out of the van. "Not much." He admitted. "You know Cindy? Folks call her 'Sin'. She's got short, spiky hair." Roy shook his head. "Yeah, I've seen her a couple times hanging around with your black leather girlfriend."

"So where can I find Sin?" he asked.

"Well, she hangs out over at Fifth and Boyton." Louis said, handing Roy his money. "And that is what I know." Roy smiled in appreciation, and then took off.

 **Lair**

 **Same time**

The gang was going over what they knew about the Mathis case.

"So this is it." Helena said. "Skin cream, that's our lead?"

"It's at least something." Nathan said. "What do we know about the product?"

"It's made from crushed mother of pearl and it's very high-end." Lyla said. "Only carried in a handful of boutiques and it's marketed for women with extremely delicate complexions."

"He picks his victims for their skin. He uses the cream to find them." Nathan summarized.

"Only four stores in the city carry it and three have surveillance systems. I've ran facial recognition through all of them looking for Mathis, but come up empty." Lyla informed him. "He must be staking out the stores from the outside."

"Fine. So we'll do the same." Helena suggested.

Nathan shook his head. "That could take days we don't have." He noted. "He's probably out there right now looking for another girl."

"So that's what we give him." Nathan and Lyla looked at Helena. "I'll go to the stores that carry Mermaiden, and buy it in each one to cover our bases." She offered.

"It's too dangerous." Lyla said at once.

"Plus, CEO of Bertinelli Construction's a little too obvious. I have someone better in mind." Nathan said.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan and Slade had almost reached the highest point._

 _"There are only two ways onto this island- by sea, and by air." Slade reminded Nathan._

 _"So what, you're going to steal whatever they use to get onto the island?" Nathan quipped._

 _"Well, I'm tired of living here, aren't you?" Slade said as he raised his binoculars. Nathan did the same, and they began to sweep the coast of the island. Almost immediately, they spotted it- a ship._

 _"Oh, my God." Nathan said._

 _"It appears to be two or three clicks offshore." Slade noted with some excitement._

 _Suddenly there were a series of explosions that startled the men._

 _"What the hell?" Nathan asked as the explosions continued._

 _Slade lifted his glasses again and scanned the ship. Though it was too far away to see any detail, he couldn't miss the tell-tale signature smoke trails of missiles being fired from the deck of the ship. "It's firing off its location." He said._

 _Nathan's eyes widened in realization. "The plane!" he exclaimed._

 _"They must have found it." Slade realized._

 _"This is why I told you it was a bad idea to split up!" Nathan exclaimed, and then took off running back to the camp._

 _"Kid!" Slade called out helplessly, then cursed and took off after him._

 **flashback end**

Skye was leaving a boutique with a bag of skin cream.

"Left the last store." She said into her com link. "You're going to reimburse me for these, right? I saved my receipts."

 **"Look we'll talk about paying you back later, just** **go to the rendezvous point."** Nathan's voice said exasperated. On a roof above her, he kept his eyes on her as she walked down the street. She walked past a parked car that contained Lyla, and continued on. **"Stay in open."**

Milling around on the street, Hall kept her eyes open. "Just for the record, I'm not a huge fan of dangling helpless girls in front of psychopaths like meat." She said darkly.

 **"Neither am I but it's the only way to draw him out. Also** **, she volunteered".** Nathan reminded the cop.

"Someone's coming." Skye said over the radio. Nathan changed positions to get a better view.

 **"I have the shot."** He told her as he nocked an arrow.

"Ok, I'm going to admit to being seriously wigged out right now." Skye said.

A moment later, she breathed a sigh of relief as the man entered a restaurant. "False alarm, but next time I offer to be serial killer bait, please turn me down." She said, looking behind to see if anyone was following. Not seeing anything, she looked back ahead, seeing nothing.

 **Next Day**

 **Morning**

The next day, Nathan was walking to the courthouse as Skye updated him on his phone. "So the police arrested Officer Quentin Lance the other night for looking into the Dollmaker case. They're charging Lance with obstruction." She was saying. "He's in custody."

 **"Mathis isn't. He didn't even take the bait."** Nathan noted sourly. **"He must looking for another type of target. And that concerns me, because I currently got nothing on my end right now."**

"I hacked Mermaiden and sent out an email blast from their servers telling stores the product was defective." She told him. "That will slow him down if he decides to go back to his usual target."

" **Good Thinking"** Nathan said.

"What do you want to about Officer Lance?" Skye asked.

 **"Nothing for right now. I gotta go, call me back at 5"** He replied as he hung up.

 **Courtroom**

A bit later, Nathan entered the courtroom and walked over to his mother, placing his hand on her arm and letting her know he was there.

"Docket ending 4587, State versus Queen." The bailiff announced as he took his seat next to Thea.

"All right, I'll hear your motions, ladies first." The judge said, looking at Moira's lawyer, Jean Loring.

"Your Honor, we would like to be heard once again on the issue of bail." She said. "Ms. Queen has languished in the Iron Heights prison now for five months."

"And in those five months, did the 15000 people she's charged with conspiring to kill miraculously become cool with it?" the Judge asked. "If not, I'm a little unclear on how the passage of time is relevant."

"Might I remind the court that the defendant is presumed innocent?" Jean asked.

"No need. I want to law school. It's where I learned that bail, once denied, cannot be set in the absence of change of circumstance." The judge informed her.

He looked to the prosecutor's table. "Mr. Donner, what do you have for me?"

Donner stood. "Your Honor, the State has no pre-trial motions to make at this time." He said. Then looked over at Jean. "But we would like to serve notice to the defense pursuant to rule of criminal procedure 15."

Jean leapt to her feet. "Your Honor, I would like to conference with the district attorney." She said heatedly.

"There's really no need, nor any obligation." Donner said smugly.

"What about professional courtesy?" Jean shot back. "I would like to have a conversation with you before you seek the death penalty." The crowd gasped and Thea grasped her brother's arm. Moira felt fear, then resignation as she realized how this trial would go.

"Your client aided and abetted an attempt of mass murder." Donner said to Jean. "15000 conversations wouldn't convince me that Moira Queen shouldn't die for her crimes."

The crowd started murmuring loudly, and Nathan leaned forward, placing his hand on Moira's shoulder. "Mom, we are going to fight this." He told her. "No one is going to take you from us. We won't let it happen."

 **Flashback**

 _Back at the island, Nathan ran into the clearing that housed the downed plane, heedless of the missiles as they rained down all around him._

 _"Nathan!" Slade called out in vain, but then a missile struck right in front of him, sending the soldier flying._

 _"Shado!" Nathan screamed just as a missile detonated behind him, sending him flying as well. Slowly he regained his senses, siting up and looking at the devastated airplane as his ears rang heavily. He looked up to see Slade, half his body on fire, before he collapsed into unconsciousness, thinking about how he had let his emotions get the better of him and what it had just cost his friend._

 **Flashback End**

 **Glades**

Roy was walking around trying to spot the girl Louis had mentioned. Finally he spotted her coming out of a building, finishing off a bottle of beer before throwing the glass bottle to the ground.

"Excuse me." He called out to get her attention.

"Step off, Abercrombie." Sin replied.

"Cindy? Sin?" he asked, though he knew it was her.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'm looking for a friend of yours." Roy said. "Blonde. Black leather, head to toe." Sin looked him over, then gave a small smirk before she took off running. Roy sighed. "So I guess that's a yes." He said to himself before taking off after her.

Sin took an early lead, running towards a fenced-in parking lot. She jumped up, grabbing the top of the fence and planting her foot in the mesh, then boosted herself over and dropped to the ground. Roy followed a moment later, hoping the fence just as easily. The two dodged in between parked cars, and Sin looked back to see Roy starting to gain on her. She ran out of the lot and into a side alley, and then slid down the railings of a set of short steps. Roy followed close behind, slipping through the railing and dropping the few feet to the ground. Sin ducked into a building- the old Clock tower on the edge of the Glades. Roy ran in right behind her, and trailed behind her as she raced to the top. He saw her scramble through the trapdoor and hurried to follow.

Roy clambered up through the trap door, and was surprised to see- nothing. He looked around, trying to spot the elusive girl-

And then he was hit on the back of the head by a metal rod. Roy fell to the floor, unconscious.

 **SCPD**

 **That Night**

Lance was wearily walking though the garage towards his car, ready to go home and rest, since his daughter had managed to get him out of going to jail. A sound drew his attention, and he walked towards it. He saw a man in a tattered coat leaning up against the side of one of the SUVs. "He said he would go inside… That's what he said. He said he would go inside." He was muttering to himself.

Lance walked over. "You all right, pal? Need a doctor or something?" he put a hand on the man's shoulder-

Then the man spun around. One hand clamped on the back of his neck, the other planted a taser in his chest. Lance gasped in pain, and then collapsed.

"No." Barton Mathis said. "I'm fine, thanks." Mathis quickly bound his hands with zip ties and threw him into the back of his van. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was Laurel, similarly bound next to him.

 **Verdant**

 **A bit later**

Thea was on the phone with one of her vendors. "I checked the order and you shorted us half a case of champagne." She complained into the phone. "I'm not paying for booze I didn't get." She sighed in annoyance and hung up, tossing her phone down onto the bar. She looked at one of the bottles of booze, half of which she was missing, and picked it up.

"That won't help. Trust me." Nathan said as he came into the club.

Thea sighed and set the bottle back down. "Yeah, well, neither is yelling at my vendors, but I want to yell at someone right now."

"Mom's going to be ok." Nathan promised. "Because we are going to help her fight this. As a family."

"They want to kill her." Thea reiterated.

"I won't let them." He replied firmly. He felt a buzzing in his pocket and pulled out Skye's phone. He looked at the screen to see a text from Skye

 _52 News. Now._

"Thea, can you turn to channel 52, please?" he asked his sister. She grabbed the remote and changed the channel on the news. _'Officer Quentin Lance and his daughter Laurel were abducted earlier today.'_ The broadcaster was saying as Thea and Nathan looked on in alarm. ' _No ransom has been demanded. SCPD are urging anyone with information regarding their whereabouts…'_

Nathan slipped away from Thea and headed downstairs. Helena and Lyla were already there, and Helena was pulling up camera images to search for her friend. "How did he get them?" Nathan demanded.

"I don't know about Laurel. Detective Lance was abducted from the precinct parking lot." Lyla pulled up the video for him to see. "Mathis shot a guard on the way out, which sounded the alarm. I pulled up the department's security camera footage, and a van from Metamorpho Chemical caught my eye."

"Metamorpho was condemned after the quake." Lyla informed him. "Perfect place to make some dolls."

"Not tonight." Nathan said, moving quickly towards the case with his uniform.

"Cops will use tracers, Nathan, same as we did." Lyla warned.

"They won't make it in time." He said.

 **Clock Tower**

 **Same Time**

Sin leaned over Roy, now bound at the wrists, and slapped his face lightly a few times. "Hey." She said as he started to come around. "Wake up, Abercrombie."

Roy shook his head, willing his vision to clear, and saw a smirking Sin standing over him. Then he heard someone else walking around, and turned his head to see a pair of black leather boots come to a stop next to him on the other side. He looked up to see the Canary standing there, half of her bo staff resting on her shoulder.

"Did they send you?" she asked.

Roy managed to bring himself to a sitting position. "Did who what?" he asked in confusion. She quickly brought the half-staff around, whipping him on the side of his face. He groaned in pain. "Not my face!" he argued weakly. "I have a disapproving girlfriend."

"Are you one of them?" she demanded.

"One of who?" She brought the staff up again, but he was literally saved by the bell (or buzzer) as his phone vibrated. "That's mine." He said needlessly as the blonde woman reached into his pocket and withdrew the phone. She looked at it, then tossed it into his lap.

"Let him go." She told Sin, and then took off at a run, jumping up and scaling several pieces of scaffolding as she made her exit to the roof. Confused, Roy fumbled for the phone and looked at it. On the screen was a text from Thea.

 _Where R U? Laurel kidnapped. Need you!_

 **Metamorpho Chemicals**

 **A few minutes later**

Laurel was strapped onto the table that the last victim had been secured in, the tube already secured in her mouth. She struggled helplessly as her father looked on. Lance was tied to a metal pole not far from her.

"Isn't this nice?" Mathis said as he prepped the polymer. "All of us here together. It's like Thanksgiving."

"Laurel, just stay calm." Lance called out to his daughter. "Stay calm. Barton, I'm sorry." He said to the insane man as he walked past towards Laurel. "I know you hate me. I know you hate me, ok, and I understand that. But you hate me. So please let my daughter go." He begged desperately.

"Now why would I do that?" Mathis said. "Look at her. She's so lovely. Maybe a little too much melanin in the skin, but it's the imperfections that make art sublime." He said, running a finger over her cheek.

"I am the one who put you away." Quentin pleaded. "She had nothing to do with it!"

"She had everything to do with it!" he roared. "She's your world, she's your very soul." He danced past him and grabbed the container of liquefied polymer. "You know, I could kill you, I could maim you, I could slice you up into a thousand pieces, but if your soul remains intact, what have I wrought? Huh?" he asked rhetorically. "Nothing."

"I will kill you, you son of a bitch!" Lance screamed as Mathis poured the liquid into the reservoir. "I will kill you! You son of a bitch!"

Laurel groaned, tears streaming down her face as the liquid traveled through the tube. Lance stared at her desperately. "Laurel, sweetheart… Close your eyes." He begged her as she watched the liquid, terrified out of her mind. "I'm here. I'm here, honey."

"If you struggle, it will take longer." Mathis said as the liquid reaching closer her mouth.

It was then that a shuriken came out of no where and sliced through the tube, allowing the polymer to spill harmlessly on the floor. Prometheus and Huntress were there. He landed on top of Mathis' workstation and fired an arrow that knocked over the reservoir, allowing the rest of the liquid to drain out.

He drew another arrow, but Mathis ducked behind Laurel. Nathan looked for a shot, but there was none. He fired anyway, the arrow embedding into a shelf behind Mathis, and the man took off, desperate to escape. Nathan ran after Mathis while Helena cut Lance free, cutting him loose before pausing to look at Laurel to make sure she was okay.

Farther into the factory, Mathis was beginning to think he had made a clean getaway. He didn't notice a figure with blonde hair and dressed in black leather drop from the ceiling behind him on aerial silk.

The Canary landed in a crouch, then withdrew the two halves of her bo staff. She connected them just as Mathis turned and swung it, sweeping his legs and sending the insane man to the ground. He got up, just to get the staff across the face. She swung low, sweeping his legs again, and hit him hard in the back, sending him to the ground once more. Mathis crawled forward, trying to get away. He grabbed a fallen pipe and swung it at her, but she dodged, then blocked his follow up shot and sent him to the ground once again. Mathis looked around wildly, and noticed a chain. He yanked on it hard, releasing several pipes that had been set in a rack above. The pipes dropped onto the Canary, knocking her down and pinning her to the floor.

Mathis got up and stalked towards the fallen vigilante. "Let's take a better look at this face of yours." He said menacingly. "You have such lovely skin." He started to bend down, but then was thrown back when a pair of what looked like tranq arrows pierced both of his shoulders. He fell back against some aluminum pipes. He looked up to see Prometheus drop down in front of him.

Nathan fired another arrow into his stomach. As the white liquid inside the arrows seeped into Mathis, he shouted in pain. **"I bet that hurts, doesn't it?"** Prometheus asked rhetorically. " **You feel as though your arteries are turning to stone. Like your stomach is weighed down by a ton of steel."**

Nathan pulled out one more arrow and fired it into Mathis chest, forever preserving him in a doll-like state. **"It's not so fun to have a taste of your own medicine, huh?"**

 **Iron Heights**

 **One Hour Later**

"Moira." Jean said, leading her client to a table. "I know how hard this day has been for you."

"Yes. And believe it or not, I've actually been in worse situations." Moira said wryly.

"Listen to me. Donner knows how strong our defense is. Don't let him scare you with that little death penalty stunt of his." Jean advised.

"Oh, I'm not afraid of dying, Jean." Moira told her lawyer. "I've made my peace with this world a long time ago."

"Then its win the case in the courtroom." Jean continued. "The trial is going to reveal that you were living under Malcolm Merlyn's thumb. It's going to reveal everything."

Moira sighed. "Yes. And that's what I'm afraid of." Moira said resignedly.

Jean sat back in her chair and regarded her client. "Moira, what don't I know?" she asked. "Don't you do this. You need to tell me. I am your lawyer, and I am also your friend."

"Thea and Nathan." Moira said simply. "I'm finally in a good place with my children again, Jean. I have my family back. But there are some things that must never be spoken of." She told Jean.

 **Clock Tower**

 **Same Time**

The Canary entered as she had left it, via the roof. She moved down several exposed poles before dropping lightly to the floor. She was about to take her mask off when she sensed a presence behind her. Turning, she saw the Dark Archer standing there.

"You shouldn't have come here." She told him.

 **"I had no choice."** He replied. **"Ra's Al Ghul has ordered your return."** The Dark Archer removed his black hood to reveal not Malcolm Merlyn, but younger Asian man.

"I'm not going back." The Canary said. "I can't."

"That is not your decision." The other assassin said.

"Tell them that you couldn't find me." The blonde begged, moving in closer. "Tell them I ran."

The assassin pulled a knife from his belt. "I won't lie for you." He said.

"Fine." She said simply. Then she deftly grabbed his hand with the knife, spun the man around, and jammed the knife into his throat. "Don't tell them anything." She finished, allowing the body to drop to the floor.

 **The Lair**

 **Same Time**

"Something's going on with this woman." Lyla said. "She keeps following you around, helping you out."

"We've got to find her." Nathan said.

"To stop her; or to send her a thank you note?" Helena asked in a teasing manner.

"That depends." Nathan replied.

"On what?" she asked.

"On who's side she's on."

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan woke up suddenly, and then pulled himself to his feet. He moved to the barred door and looked out at the cellblock, though he could tell by the way the floor was moving that he was on a ship._

 _And in the bay of Lian Yu, The Amazo steamed, circling the island once more._

 **Chapter End**

 **It always kinda bothered me that Slade thought it was a good idea to split up when they were dealing with an unknown enemy. Splitting up, is like Horror Movie 101 of what NOT to do.**


	23. Chapter 23 - Crucible

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth 2 Laurel Lance (eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Dinah Drake, McKenna Hall**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller, Earth 0 Laurel**

 **Chapter 23: Crucible**

Down at the docks, four gangbangers armed with assault rifles were firing up at the roof where Prometheus stood. The vigilante fired back, shooting one in the chest before he was forced to move to seek cover.

"Over there!" one of them said.

"Where, man?!" another asked as he hosed the roof with bullets.

"There, man!"

Helena popped up from behind them and sliced off two of their heads with a machete she normally kept strapped at he side. Nathan jumped down and then activated his com-link as he let the fourth one run away. **"Lyla. Took down three more gangbangers."** He told his girlfriend. **"They were all armed with fully automatic M4A1 assault rifles."**

"M4A1s are military grade weapons." Lyla replied over the radio. "Stolen, most likely."

 **"Where could they have been stolen from?"** Helena asked

"Well, we can look into that after your party."

 **2 hours later**

Nate in his tux, was currently discussing things with Isabel, who was looking quite tasty in that red dress.

"So, at the moment, we've managed to get 73 more investors to, well, invest in QC." Nathan said to Isabel.

"Not the most impressive of numbers, Mr. Queen. Even though they were sizable donations." Isabel quipped.

"Hey I'll take what I can get. And for a guy a who managed to get 150 million more in investments from over 73 different investors, I'd call that something." Nathan responded.

It was then that he saw his girlfriend, Helena, in that stunning purple dress. "Excuse me." He said to Isabel, as he greeted his girlfriend.

"Hey there, handsome." Helena greeted her boyfriend, as she had been mingling with the guests.

"God, have I ever told you how ravishing you look in purple?" He whispered wistfully into her ear as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Many times," Helena smiled, "wait til later, and I'll remind how much better I look **out** of it."

"I look forward to it." Nathan said as he gave her a kiss.

"So what about those guns?" Helena asked.

"Guns?" they turned to see Sebastian Blood approach them with Laurel in tow. "We were just talking about guns."

"Mr. Blood." Nathan said in greeting.

"Nathan." Laurel said with a small smile.

"Hi, Laurel." He replied with more warmth.

"What's your interest in guns, Mr. Queen?" Blood asked.

"Never want one pointed at me." Nathan replied.

"The gun epidemic in the Glades has gotten increasingly out of control." Blood noted.

"Which is why the DEA's office has committed to ending gun violence." Laurel added.

"Well, I'm sure the police are doing whatever they can to catch whoever's bring the weapons into the city." Nathan said confidently, then frowned as Blood and Laurel laughed lowly. "What's so damn funny?" he asked, annoyed.

"They know who's been arming the gangs, Nathan." Laurel told him. "The Mayor."

Nathan looked at her with an eyebrow raised in confusion "Yeah, last time I checked, the mayor got used for target practice by Hoods' Gang. He's quite dead."

"Well, not the actual mayor." Blood said patronizingly. "A local gang lord calls himself the Mayor. Thinks he's the man to save our city."

"But that position has already been filled, hasn't it?" Laurel noted wryly.

Blood chuckled. "Now this mayor has only one goal- to create chaos so he can rule the Glades with the barrel of a gun."

 **Abandoned Strip Club**

 **Glades**

Inside this not-so abandoned strip club, The Mayor was trying out one of the M4's on a display mannequin set up on the stage. He laughed at the carnage as the bullets tore through the mannequin, but his smile faded as the last gangbanger from the docks walked in, his head down. "You are noticeably unarmed, son." He noted.

"Sorry, Mr. Mayor." The thugs said. "Um, we ran into the Vigilante, and, um, he ganked our weapons. And he killed the other 3 guys." He tried.

"Do you know who I was before the Glades almost went KABOOM?" The Mayor asked rhetorically.

"I was no one. I had no name. None that mattered, anyway. I was just another weak man waiting to get fired or evicted or killed." He stepped off of the bar and walked up to the boy. "But then the chaos came, and now I matter, because I know the guy with the biggest gun wins, and that's why I will rule the Glades." He lifted the M4 at the thug. "But there's no room at my table for weak ass punks like you."

"Mr. Mayor." Another man said from behind the terrified gangbanger. The other man stepped forward. "I want to ask for leniency. The kid's my cousin. I'm the one who brought him in." he explained.

"Oh, you did?" The Mayor adjusted his aim and let loose with a burst of automatic fire at the other man, killing him instantly. The Mayor then looked back at the gangbanger and thrust the now-empty M4 into his hands. "Now let's hope you do your family prouder than he did." He snarled, then turned and walked out with his protection.

 **The Party**

Laurel was enjoying yet another glass of wine, to Nathan's concern. "Hey." He said.

Laurel paused in her drinking, and then turned around to face Nathan. "Please do not ask me if I'm ok, because I am sick to death of everyone asking me that!" she exclaimed.

"I would never do that." Nathan quickly assured her.

"Good." She said, satisfied.

A beat passed before he asked. "You ok?"

Laurel shot him a look. "The Doll Maker was just your garden variety traumatic experience." She said, moving closer to him. "I should be used to that by now."

"I've had a few of those." Nathan reminded her. "You never truly get used to them."

They heard footsteps and looked over to see Lyla standing there. "Excuse me, Nathan, may I talk to you for a second? It's urgent." She said.

"Yeah." Nathan agreed. Lyla paused, waiting for Laurel to leave. When she didn't, she added "I promise, this won't take long."

"Excuse us." Nathan said to Laurel, finally getting the message. Laurel gave them a pained smile, but moved off. Nathan shot Lyla a frustrated look that she ignored.

"I just realized something. What if our masked friend that keeps showing up everywhere you go-you know, her?" she said in a rush.

"What about her?" Nathan asked impatiently.

"What if we've been going about this the wrong way?" Lyla continued. "We thought she was obsessed with you. I mean, she showed up in the D. A.'s office when you were there," Nathan thought back to her dropping through the skylight. "And in the chemical plant where the Doll Maker was holed up." He thought back to the blonde coming in on her aerial silk. "But who else was at both those places?" Lyla finished. With a start, he looked up to see Laurel mingling with the guests. "What if our masked friend isn't following you?"

He understood. "She's following Laurel." He said.

Later that night, Laurel walked back into her apartment. She tossed her purse onto the end table, then walked to her nightstand and tiredly started to take her earrings out. From across the way, The Canary watched over Laurel.

Suddenly, though, she sensed a presence. She turned around and took off running- just as an arrow embedded itself in the wall besides her. She took off over the rooftops, running on the edge of one before jumping down onto another. As she started across the room, she crossed the path of two pre-positioned crossbows, both loaded with bola arrows. The crossbows went off, ensnaring the Canary in their lines and holding her in place. She struggled briefly, and then looked up as Prometheus approached. Scared, she managed to pull out her canary cry device and activated it, then threw it down onto the ground in front of her. It went off with an ear-piercing sound, but Prometheus just kept calmly walking towards her.

 **"Can it get any louder?"** he asked, tapping the side of his ear.

She huffed in annoyance, but remotely turned the device off. **"Why are you following Laurel Lance**?" he demanded.

"I could ask the same thing of you." She shot back. "I guess some things never change. You're always going to pick Laurel, always and forever."

Nathan stepped back, stunned. **"Who are you?"** he demanded.

"Once you know, your life will never be the same."

 **"I can take it."**

"Not this time." She said, and then added "Nate."

His eyes widened as he realized she knew who he was, and then her voice registered in his memory. Hesitantly, he reached up towards her mask, pushing it off her face. Along with the mask came the platinum blonde hair wig, leaving her long locks of dirty blonde hair exposed. Nathan stepped back, stunned, and threw back his own hood as he took in the sight of a very alive Sara Lance.

 **Flashback**

 _"Aah!"_

 _Nate sprung up at the feminine scream and ran outside to see everyone running, as a red emergency light flashed repeatedly. Sprinting down the hallway he opened the door to see a pipe had fallen through Oliver's room and ran him through while Sara was on the ground sobbing._

 _"Sara! Come on, the ship is going down."_

 _'"Ollie, he's dead!" Sara sobbed_

 _"Sara, if we don't move we will be too, now come on!" Nate said just as the ship turned over causing him to fall over onto the wall and Sara fell through a window and water flooded the room, "Sara!"_

 _He swam up to Oliver's body and closed his eyes looking at him sadly before he swam up breaching the surface "Sara! Sara!" he shouted looking around._

 _"Nathan! Nate!" Robert yelled in a lifeboat causing Nate to turn around and swim over and get in before he saw Sara wasn't inside._

 _"Sara!" Nathan turned and shouted about to jump back in to save his friend but Robert grabbed him "No! No! No, dad, she's out there!"_

 _"She's not there." Robert yelled crying himself knowing that Oliver was dead._

 _"Sara!" Nathan yelled looking at the yacht as it went down._

 _"They're gone." Robert said sadly._

 **Flashback**

Back in the present, Nathan looked at his ex-lover in shock. **"Sara?"**

"I'll give you some time to let it sink in." Sara said, and then activated the self-destruct on the canary cry device. It sounded once loudly, then exploded, sending Nathan crashing down to the roof. When he looked up again, she was gone.

 **The Lair**

 **Later**

"Sara Lance?" Chien said. "As in Laurel's younger sister?".

"Yeah." He said quietly.

"I thought she was dead?" she asked. "You told everyone that she died when 'The Gambit' went down, that she drowned."

Nathan raised his head, but he didn't look at them, He was looking past them, back to the Island.

"You lied." Lyla realized.

"When 'The Gambit' capsized, Sara was pulled under." Nathan said shakily. "It was so dark and cold. And I honestly thought she drowned." He sighed. "About year later, I saw her."

Lyla straightened. "She drifted to the island, too?"

"Not exactly." Nathan said evasively.

"Why didn't you tell the Lances that she didn't die in that boat?" Helena asked. "Lance blames your brother for it."

"Yeah, well, that it was his fault." Nathan said simply. "But what happened on the island was my fault."

"Well, where has she been all these years, Nathan?" Lyla asked.

"I don't know!" Nathan shot back. "Lyla, I swear to God. I was sure she was dead."

"Do you have any stories about the island that weren't filled with pain?" Helena wondered sadly as she stood next to her boyfriend rubbing his shoulders.

"None that I feel like talking about right now." Nathan said, rubbing his face tiredly as he leaned on the metal desk.

'Listen to them,' Nathan looked up to see the hallucination of his beloved Shado, leaning down on the table to meet him at eye level, 'pushing you to tell them about your worst time on the island. How rude.'

"Go away," Nathan whispered to himself. Lyla walked up behind Nathan and hugged him, letting him know he had her support.

"Do they deserve to know?" Lyla asked after a moment.

Nathan unwound himself from her arms. "I need to take care of some business at work." He said, evading the issue. "Where are we with the Mayor?"

Lyla sighed. "I'm in contact with some of my ARGUS sources." He told him. "Trying to get a line on how he's getting his illegal army weaponry. I'll keep you updated." Nathan walked past him. "Look Nate, somebody once told me that secrets have weight." Lyla said, stopping the younger man with his words. "The more you keep, the harder it is to keep moving."

Nathan looked back at him, the pain in his eyes evident. "You see how much I bench."

 **Flashback**

 _One of the pirates approached Nathan's cell._

 _"You kill three of my crew." The pirate said without preamble. "How many others are with you on the island? What are your weapon capabilities?" Nathan just stared impassively at the man, not saying a word. "Did you find the graves?" Nathan said nothing. "Two things will happen- you will tell me everything I want to know, then I will kill you." The pirate said. "Or I will torture you until you tell me everything I want to know. And then I will kill you."_

 _Nathan stared back, then slowly rose to his feet. He walked up to the bars. "Go fuck yourself." He said._

 _"Can't. Satan already did that." The pirate said. Then he fired the gun he was holding that Nathan hadn't even noticed. The bullet pierced his left abdomen and Nathan collapsed, screaming in pain._

 **Flashback End**

Sara was in the old clock tower, staring at nothing as she thought about her meeting with Nathan earlier. Suddenly she sensed a presence behind her and spun around, her baton telescoping out-

And stopping right at the tip of Sin's nose.

Sin looked down at the point of the staff, then back up at the vigilante. Sara sighed and lowered the weapon. She saw the bag in her friends hand and smirked. "Told you. The Patty Shack on 5th and Brewer, best burgers in town."

"Well, Patty Shack's in the Mayor's territory, so I'll take a sub-par breakfast over a bullet." Sin said, sitting Indian style on the floor and pulling out a sandwich. She held it up to Sara, who just looked at it listlessly. "What's wrong?" Sin asked with a worried frown. "Look, I know I'm skinny, but I can eat two of these, and I will."

Sara leaned against a support pillar, and then slid down to the ground to join Sin. "Just ran into my oldest friend, the same guy that I've been in love with for half my life." She said. "I'm just worried that he might tell my family I'm back."

"You have family in Starling?" Sin asked.

"Yeah." Sara said. "My father, he's a- he's a policeman. And my sister, she's a lawyer."

"Well, they must be real proud of their masked delinquent." Sin said, taking a sip of her soda.

"Yeah, they think I'm dead." Sara admitted.

Sin paused for a moment, surprised by the revelation. Finally she gave Sara a wry smile. "Oh, cool. My folks think I'm dead, too." She said. "That or they wish I'd never been born. One of those."

Sara chuckled. Sin took another drink, and then asked "Why don't you want them to know that you're still alive?"

"'Cause I'm not what they remember." Sara said sadly.

"Good little daddy's girl?" Sin guessed.

Sara laughed again. "Actually far from it. I was a lot like you." She admitted.

Sin nodded. "Is that why you saved me from those guys that night?"

Sara looked at her with a serious expression, one bone from pain inflicted on her a long time ago. "No woman should ever suffer at the hands of men."

 **Queen Consolidated**

 **Early Morning**

Sebastian Blood was waiting in the QC boardroom with Isabel Rochev as Nathan walked in.

"Mr. Blood." He said with a polite smile. "I see you've met Miss Rochev. She's my—"

"Superior." She said instantly.

"Subordinate." Nathan corrected.

"On paper." She shot back coolly.

"Who owns 60% of this company again? Oh that's right. Me." Nathan said with a smartass tone, shutting Isabel up.

"Is that why you asked me to come down here, Mr. Queen, to mediate your job title?" Blood asked sarcastically.

Nathan chuckled. "You and I have gotten off on the wrong foot repeatedly." He admitted.

"Seems to be your super power." Blood quipped.

"I was inspired by what you said the other night about gun violence in the Glades." Nathan continued. "And I had an idea that might help."

"Really? Another party at your stately manor?" Blood asked dryly.

Nathan shook his head. "No. I'm in the business of sponsoring a cash-for-guns event under QC's name." He said. Isabel looked at him, startled. "I give you the money and you get your constituents to lay down their arms. Everybody wins."

"Especially you." Blood pointed out sourly. "Trying to puff up your family name by ridding the Glades of guns."

"I rarely do anything for free," Nathan said coldly.

Isabel went from startled to alarmed. "Mr. Queen, may I have a word with you?" she asked quickly.

"Let me think it over." Blood said, walking out.

As soon as he was gone, Isabel turned and glowered at Nathan. "You really want to sponsor that event." She stated at once.

"I assume you've heard recently about the violence going on in the Glades?" Nathan asked rhetorically. "Anyway, it's good PR for the company, and we received a 150 million in investments, so we have plenty of cash to burn. 1 or 2 million would be more than enough to cover the entire event."

"You realize though that if any goes wrong, it's come down on you." Isabel stated coolly as she got up and stalked out of the room.

"Trust me, I know." Nathan said to himself.

 **D.A.'s Office**

Laurel was once again working late, listening to her iPod. She was startled when Donner walked out of his office and called to her, and turned her music down at once.

"I was going to order some takeout, you want in?" he asked.

"I appreciate the offer, Adam, but—"

"I've eaten takeout every night this week; I need a meal served on an actual plate. So do you."

 **Restaurant**

 **Later**

Laurel and Donner sat at a table, having enjoyed their meal and wine. Laurel was enjoying her second glass, finishing it off in one long pull, and then smiled at the waitress who brought her a fresh glass.

"I get it." Donner was saying. "It's easy to let the job become your life. I keep having to remind myself to go to the gym, see a movie, eat a good meal."

"That sounds dangerously like having a life." Laurel said slyly.

"What about you? You can't be all about work." Donner hedged.

"I'm the best me when I am working." Laurel said simply.

"And when you're not?"

"You don't want to meet her. She's not good company." She said, sipping her wine.

"I'd be willing to risk it." Donner offered.

Laurel choked a bit on her wine. "Excuse me. I have to go." She said suddenly, setting down the glass and grabbing her things.

Donner rose to his feet. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"No, it's ok." Laurel said with a tight smile. "It's fine. I just have to go."

"Good night." He told her as she rushed past.

"Good night." Laurel said as she left.

Laurel climbed into her car and began to drive home.

She was halfway home when a patrol car got behind her, then flashed its lights in warning.

Dutifully, Laurel pulled over.

"Crap." She muttered as the patrol officer got out of his car and walked up to her window, which she rolled down.

"License and registration?" he asked.

"Is there a problem, Officer?" Laurel asked, squinting as the officer shined his light into the car.

"Have you had anything to drink tonight, ma'am?" he asked.

Crap indeed. "I'm Laurel Lance. I'm an assistant district attorney." She tried.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lance, but I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the car, please." The officer said, not impressed. Laurel sagged slightly, now officially worried.

 **Lair**

 **At the same time**

"I need some good news." Nathan said as he came down the stairs to see Chien and Lyla. Helena was busy with her company and wouldn't be making it today.

"The bad news first." Lyla replied. "Somehow the Mayor did get his hands on a crate of military-grade weapons from Camp Kirby." She told Nathan

"The good news?"

"If he kept the crate, Ms. Daisy might be able to find where he's hiding." Lyla said, rising from her chair and moving over to her workstation. On her desk, hooked into her computer, was a white plastic device with a black box inset into the middle of it, encased in a clear plastic cover.

The edges of the black box glowed green. "This is the same make and model of a tracking system the army installs on all of its weapons crates. If they lose a crate, they send out a remote signal that activates the beacon." She tapped in the sample code, and the green light turned red.

"The Mayor's clever." Lyla continued. "He deactivated his beacon. Send a signal, nothing comes back."

"You need to work on your definition of good news." Nathan ground out.

"Alright." Chien grinned. "How's this- guess which company designed the tracking system the army uses? I'll give you a hint- their CEO? He's a god in between the sheets."

Nathan smiled back. "Nice."

"I pulled up a copy of the original plans from QC." She told him, showing him the schematics. "Turns out there's a design flaw. The beacon is still susceptible to a sub form wave even if it's been deactivated."

"The Mayor turned it off, Nathan." Chien said. "But it can be turned back on."

 **Several minutes later**

"So, how did this Not-Mayor get his hands on military assault weapons, and nobody heard about it?"

 **"Oh, you know how this works. Government likes to cover stuff like this up to avoid a panic."** Nate said into the phone.

About a minute later, his phone received the location of the crates. "I believe you ordered a case of stolen military weapons, Boss?" Skye said excitedly at her job well done.

 **"Indeed I did. Well done, Skye."** Nate said as he got his gear.

 **Glades**

 **Not-so Abandoned club**

Several minutes later at the club, the Mayor noticed the red blinking light in the crate. Hurriedly he jumped off the stage and ran over to the crate.

"I thought you deactivated the tracker!" he demanded of one of his thugs before smashing the tracking device with the butt of his rifle. Suddenly he heard the whistle of a flying object, and saw one of his men topple over with a kunai in his head.

They all looked up to see Prometheus standing on the second level, threw a shuriken that killed another of their number before they returned fire. He moved quickly, hopping down the levels behind cover and dodging their fire even as he returned the favor, dropping 3 more men with three arrows. But there were too many men, and they all bolted for the exit as Nathan dropped down to the floor. He aimed a shot at the Mayor, but he disappeared through the door before he could fire. Frowning, he walked over to the crate of assault rifles, placed explosive disks inside each one, then tapped his com link. **"Weapons are secure."** He told his team.

"And the Mayor?" Lyla asked. Nathan walked out of the club.

Nathan smirked. **"Still in office,"** He pulled out a detonator. He pressed the button, causing the crates of guns to explode the flames nearly reaching him as he walked out, not turning around. **"For the moment."**

 **With Laurel**

Quentin was just pulling up. He got out of his patrol car and gave a tired nod to his fellow officer.

"Thanks for the heads up, Officer Daily." He said.

"Just fyi- she blew 6 miles past the legal limit." Daily replied, handing her keys to him.

"Thank you." Quentin replied again. Daily got back into his squad car and pulled off, leaving the Lance's alone.

"He didn't need to call you." Laurel said sullenly.

"No. But you're lucky he did." He said. "You could have lost your job. You could have lost your life, and you could have killed somebody!"

"I had a few too many glasses of wine at dinner." Laurel protested. "It was an accident!"

"An accident. Well, I guess those happen." Quentin said sarcastically.

Laurel narrowed her eyes at her father. "Was I not supposed to notice that tone?" she asked.

"The two of us," Quentin started. "You got a lot from me, Laurel. Maybe you got this, too."

"You can hardly compare my one mistake to your drinking problem." Laurel shot back.

"So long as it is only one mistake." Quentin said.

"I don't know if you've noticed," she ground out, "But I've had a little bit of a hard time lately. I was kidnapped, nearly murdered by a psychopath, and my boyfriend died. So, I don't know, maybe cut me some slack."

"You know, when I started having a hard time, I wish people had not cut me slack." Quentin said. "Leave your car here, I'm driving you home."

"I'll take a cab." Laurel spat, turning and walking away.

"Laurel… Laurel!" Quentin called out futilely. Then he sighed in resignation as he watched her walk off into the night.

 **Verdant**

 **Next Morning**

The next morning, Nathan pulled up to Verdant on his bike. He left his helmet on the seat and was walking up to the doors when he sensed a presence behind him. He turned around to see Sara standing there in civilian clothes.

Wordlessly he turned back and opened the door, holding it open for her to walk through first.

She walked inside and looked around, taking in the club but not really seeing it. Finally, she turned back to Nathan. "Did you tell my family that I'm alive?" she asked.

"No." Nathan replied at once. She turned away from him. "Sara." He walked around her so that he was facing her once more. "I saw you die." He started.

"Not the first time that's happened, right?" she said ironically. "And I feared you were dead, too. What happened to Slade?" she asked.

"Where have you been?" he countered, ignoring her question.

"Everywhere." She said simply.

"That's not an answer." Nathan replied.

"Well, it's the one you're getting." She shot back. She sighed and started pacing aimlessly.

"About a year ago, I started hearing tales of the Starling City vigilante." She continued. "The man in the black hood. The Arrow. I knew it was you."

"I had never known you as much of a fighter. Where did you pick that up?" He asked.

"I met some rough people." She said cryptically. "Thought I should get rougher, too."

"Sara." Nathan moved in closer. "Why did you come back?"

"The Undertaking and I heard you were dead. I quickly figured that wasn't the case when you were still walking around but the Arrow wasn't and that you had staged your persona's death." She said.

"But you're still here, watching over them. Protecting them." He surmised. He looked her in the eyes. "So, did you come here to make sure I didn't tell them? Or because you were hoping I had?" he asked.

Before she could answer, there was a knock on the door. Nathan sighed. "I'll get rid of them." Nathan walked past Sara and unlocked the door. He opened in and leaned out- to see Quentin Lance standing there.

"Mr. Lance?" he said loudly so that Sara would know who it was. Sara turned around, shock and terror on her face.

"Hi." Lance said awkwardly.

Nathan slipped out the door and closed it, hiding Sara from the detective. "Something I can help you with?" he asked.

"I'm here about my daughter." Quentin said. Nathan's breath stilled. "Laurel." Lance continued.

Nathan let out a small breath. "Is she ok?" he asked at once.

Inside the club, Sara moved up to the door, staring out the window at her father.

"Yeah." Quentin started. "Well, no, she's not. She got pulled over for a DUI last night. I tried talking to her about it, but…" he sighed. "She wasn't hearing me."

"I…I saw her a few nights ago." Nathan said. "She… didn't seem like herself."

"No, I know. She seems like me." Quentin chuckled humorlessly. "I don't know if you know, but when you, your brother, and Sara disappeared, I hit the bottle pretty hard." He began as Sara watched on tearfully. "Look, I don't like you, and considering how much of an ass I was to you last year, you probably don't like me. But I know the two of you are old friends. And she needs a friend. Maybe she'll listen to you." He asked of him.

"Sure." Nathan said at once.

Nathan ran back into the club, but Sara was gone.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan was groaning in pain from the bullet wound. He looked around helplessly, and then he spotted it- a small surgical dish with everything he'd need to remove the bullet and stitch himself back up. Nathan looked at in in confusion "Why would they do this?" he asked of the man in the cell next to him, then groaned again in pain._

 _"They make all of us do this." The man replied with a heavy Russian accent. "Supposed to show prochnost." He lifted his shirt to show the scar from his own bullet wound. The man in the opposite cell did the same. "It's Russian. For strength."_

 _"They-they did it to see if I'm strong?!" Nathan asked incredulously._

 _"They're doing this to see if you survive." The Russian clarified. "Living is not for the weak."_

 _Nathan looked at the man, then reached through the bars and grabbed the tray. Then he proceeded to dig the bullet out, even as he shouted in pain._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Laurel's Apartment**

Laurel came out to go to work to see Nathan standing on the sidewalk in front of her door.

"Nathan." She said with a tight smile.

"Hi." He replied.

"What are you doing here?" she asked. "Is everything ok?"

"I don't know. Is everything ok?" he replied.

Laurel sighed in exasperation. "You've got to be kidding me. My dad went to you?" she rolled her eyes, and then walked past Nathan down the sidewalk. "He spent the last six years cursing your name, you sued him until he lost his detective rank, and now you're what, gossip buddies?" she asked sarcastically.

"Laurel. He's worried about you." He said in a calm tone of voice.

Laurel stopped. "Perfect." She spun around to glare at him. "A recovering alcoholic and former party boy turned CEO trying to tell me how to live my life. Don't you see the hypocrisy there?"

"What I see is somebody that both of us love for having a rough go of it." Nathan tried.

"Do you know how many times I've had to pull my dad out of a bar?" she asked. "Or how many nights I've had to drive him home where he's passed out in my backseat? He's the one with the problem." She said. "Not me. Just because he can't cope with losing Sara doesn't mean I can't handle my life. Feel free to tell him that during the next chit chat." Laurel finished as she turned and walked off.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan lay on the floor of his cell having stitched up his wound. The Pirate came over and kneeled down, inspecting the work from outside the cage. "Sewing is not your strong suit." He noted. Nathan held up the bullet, then let it drop to the floor. The pirate nodded. "Now we can talk." He said._

 _"For two years my crew and I have been looking for grave site. Did you find the graves?" he asked. Nathan pulled himself up, but didn't answer the man. He just stared._

 _"Were the bodies odd? The bones misshapen?" the pirate asked. Nathan said nothing, but his defiance told the pirate what he wanted to know. He stood and pulled out his radio. "This is the right island." He said into the device as he walked off._

 **Flashback End**

 **Glades**

 **QC's Gun-buyback** **Event**

Roy was there, dropping off his arsenal.

"Looks like we got a Colt 1911, Jennings .32, and a K-frame revolver." The attendant said. "Um… We'll give you $250 for the lot."

"Keep it." Roy told the man.

"Do I even want to know where you got those guns?" Roy tuned around to see Thea standing there.

He sighed, but smiled tightly. "They're from the old days." He told her. "I told you. Look, no more being a criminal. No more being a hero. Just Roy Harper. Bus boy and boyfriend."

They drew close to each other, about to kiss…

"Yo, Abercrombie."

Roy blinked, the moment ruined. They turned around to see who had spoken, and Roy felt the bottom drop out of his stomach when he saw Sin standing there, her arms crossed and a smirk on her face.

"Where's your manners? She asked mockingly.

"Sin." His eyes narrowed at the other girl. "This is Thea. Thea, this is Sin."

"Thea Queen?" she gave her a brief look-over. "Look at you, rolling with royalty. By the way, the salad fork's the small one." She added sarcastically.

"It was good to see you again." Roy said coldly, a clear dismissal.

Sins' eyes lit up. She moved in close to Roy. "She doesn't know you're the Vigilante's delivery boy, does she?" she asked quietly. The tense look on his face told her everything she needed to know. Sin turned to Thea and gave her a mocking bow. "Nice to meet you, your highness."

"You, too." Thea replied dryly as Sin walked off.

Thea turned to Roy. "So how do you know her?"

"We both live in the Glades. We've ran into each other a few times." He answered vaguely.

Out on the fringes of the buy back, Nathan stood, observing the event. McKenna was standing next to him. "Your certain he'll show up?" McKenna asked.

"Positive. The so-called Mayor thinks of guns in the same way a king thinks of a crown and scepter. It would be the ultimate affront to his power amongst his base of supporters to have guns in the Glades being sold for cash. He will respond in kind, which is why I requested additional security for the event. Plus, it will give the SCPD a chance to test the I.C.E.R.'s in action." Nathan said, referring to the sharpshooters he had on every roof on the street, armed with ICER Sniper Rifles, while he had 20 cops in the crowd armed with ICER Pistols.

Sebastian Blood noticed him and walked over, whilst McKenna walked away.

"It's going well?" Nathan asked.

"Last check, we've taken in over 200 guns in only 2 hours." He noted the tight expression on his face. "Try not to look so happy about it."

"A lot on my mind, alderman." Nathan stated.

"My job is to help the people in this city with their problems." Blood said.

Nathan turned to face the alderman. He didn't like this guy, he didn't trust him, but he figured he could use someone to talk to. "Two people that are very important to me are having a rough time." Nathan began. "Sisters, actually. And neither one of them is making it very easy for me to help them."

"Sooner or later, we all go through a crucible." Blood replied. "I'm guessing yours was that island." Nathan nodded slightly. "For most, there are two types of people who go into a crucible- the ones who grow stronger from the experience and survive it, and the ones who die. But I believe there's a third type. The ones who learn to love the fire." He continued. "They choose to stay in their crucible because it's easier to embrace the pain when it's all you know anymore."

"That's why I'm on the clock to help this city. Before it becomes used to living like this."

"Living is not for the weak." Nathan said, thinking back to Anatoli on the ''Amazo''. "Old friend of mine once told me that."

"That's a wise friend." Blood said.

Suddenly the peace was ripped apart by gunfire.

The Mayor, riding in the back of one of 3 tricked out pickup trucks with a couple of goons with assault rifles smashed through the police barricades and sent the people scattering. The trucks skidded to a stop, and the Mayor, who was in the middle one, began speaking.

Nathan tapped his earpiece to notify the police sharpshooters he had on every roof on this street and police men. "The moment I give the signal, take them out."

"Roger that." McKenna's voice came.

"Listen up, people. This is your mayor speaking." He said. His goons aimed their rifles into the crowd. "Now I don't recall this here event being sanctioned." He continued. "What happens in the Glades only happens if I allow it."

"You're not the leader of this community!" Nathan shouted at the man, drawing everyone's attention. "Nobody voted for you! You were not democratically elected! You're just some worthless punk who thinks just because he has a gun in his hands that he can do whatever he wants! You don't speak for the good people of the Glades!"

"And neither do you." The Mayor replied, gesturing to his men. "Not anymore."

"Take them down!" McKenna shouted over the earpieces.

Just before the Mayor's men opened fire, every cop and sharpshooter on the roofs opened fire. The hail of dendrotoxin bullets knocked all the goons and the Mayor out cold. The two outside truck drivers got hit as well, but the driver for the truck that the Mayor was on had his windows up and sped away. The Mayor only managing to escape because he had been knocked onto his back by the force of the bullets, and was still in the back of the truck.

However, a few of the goons had managed to shoot a few rounds into the crowd, one of them hitting Sin.

Nathan sprinted over to Thea and Roy. "Hey! Are you ok?" he asked them. "Are either of you hit?"

Thea shook her head. "No." Nathan nodded, then got up.

Roy heard a groan, and looking up he saw Sin hunched over. "Sin, you all right?" he called out.

"All's good." She moaned, and then stared at shock at her hand as she pulled it away from her abdomen. It was covered in blood. She fell back and Roy ran over to her. "Thea, go get help!" Nathan told his sister as he used his jacket to apply pressure on Sins' wound. "Go!" she nodded and ran off to call the paramedics, leaving Roy and Nate holding Sin as she continued to bleed out.

 **Verdant**

 **One hour later**

Down in the basement, the gang were watching a news report on the shooting.

 _'The shooting was committed by the gang leader known only as "The Mayor," who, until now, has never been seen in public.'_ The broadcaster was saying. _' Thankfully, thanks to the timely intervention of Mr. Nathaniel Queen and the Police at the event, there were only minor casualties and zero fatalities.'_

Chien paused the broadcast and Skye, who was on the phone, began typing.

"So, looks like the Not-Mayor decided to show his face." Skye quipped.

 **"His vanity is going to cost him."** Nathan noted.

"Alright FBI, cough up the goods." Skye aid as the program ran.

After a few moments, the program beeped and a profile was pulled up, sending it to him. "Got a match. Xavier Reed." She said, reading off the name on the profile.

 **"Did Mr. Reed serve in the military?"** Nathan asked.

"No military history for himself. Not attempts to join either." She replied.

 **"Family members?"**

Skye shook her head, not that he could see. "Reed was in and out of foster care his whole life." She frowned as she read on. "Here's something. In 1996, Reed spent three years with a foster family and their son, Ezra Barnes." She said. "Barnes served three tours in Iraq. He's stateside now."

 **"$20 bucks said he was stationed at Camp Kirby."** Nathan said.

"Pay the man." Skye replied. "The Mayor's foster brother is assigned to a weapons convoy that carries SCAR 16s by truck. The convoy's scheduled to come through Starling City tonight."

"FN SCAR 16s are military assault weapons with grenade launchers." Lyla noted with concern. "The man gets a hold of these, Nathan, its game over."

Nathan scowled. "He won't." He put his ear to the phone and said **"Thanks for the help Skye."** he said, hanging up the phone, turning to gear up.

 **Starling General**

 **Same time**

Sin was sedated in a hospital bed, being checked over by the surgeon. He turned to Roy, who stood with him in the room. Thea waited outside the room, leaning against the far wall.

"The bullet penetrated her anterior abdomen." The doctor was telling Roy. "We were able to remove most of the fragments. We'll know more in a few hours."

Roy nodded, and the doctor walked out. Thea walked into the room. "Hey." He told her. "I'm going to stick around, in case she wakes up."

"Is it ok if I stick around with you?" she asked. Roy nodded, and Thea placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "I mean, you saved her life, Roy." She said, gently rubbing the shoulder. "I guess you can't stop being a hero, can you?" they both turned to look at the sleeping Sin.

Outside, The Canary watched on, sad for her friend's pain and angry that she couldn't prevent it. Suddenly an arrow struck the wall behind her. She turned to look at it, and saw a zip line attached. Without hesitation, she grasped the line and slid down to the adjoining rooftop, where Prometheus and Huntress waited.

 **"I'd like to see how you handle yourself in a real fight."** He told her.

"Good." She said. "I was looking for a fight."

 **Glades**

 **Later**

The convoy rolled through the darkened streets, coming to a halt right in front of Xavier. His foster brother climbed out of the truck and walked up to Xavier, hugging him.

"They're with me." Ezra said, indicating the other men that had climbed out of the military vehicles. He then nodded at the open back of his truck. "He wasn't."

Xavier looked in to see a dead soldier.

He laughed and clapped his brother on the shoulder. "You're done being all you can be." He said.

Ezra held out his hand, and one of his men handed him a SCAR 16. He unfolded the stock and held it out for Xavier to look at.

"Ahh. You and I are going to own this town." He said with a grin. He hefted the gun. "Now let's see what this bad boy can do."

A sound grabbed everyone's attention, and they all turned to see The Canary standing there, her bo staff in hand. At once she attacked, expertly wielding the staff, taking out soldiers and gang members combined.

As the gang tried to regroup, Prometheus and Huntress joined in the fray, letting loose with a barrage of arrows and crossbow-bolts, killing everyone they hit.

The gang opened fire, but they were firing blind. Nathan dropped down, running behind cover, and then dropped down again behind the truck he came around and sliced off the head of a young gangbanger. He looked up at Sara, who had just finished beating up the last soldier.

"Behind you." She said. Nathan turned sharply, bow drawn with an arrow nocked to see Xavier standing about fifteen feet away, the SCAR in hand.

"Old school weapon." He called out. "Respect. But can your arrows do this?" he fired off the grenade. Nate let his arrow loose, the arrow hitting the grenade and detonating it.

The shockwave sent the three vigilantes to the ground. His ears ringing, he noted the rest of the gang members and soldiers that were still alive rushing up to attack, so he grasped the first weapon he saw on the ground- Sara's staff. He got up, spinning the staff around and wielding it like an expert, using it in conjunction with his Mirakuru strength to perform lethal takedowns. As the last of the gang members dropped to the ground, Ezra came out from behind one of the trucks, a SCAR in hand. He raised it to fire-

But was dropped by an arrow between the shoulder blades, courtesy of the Canary.

The two vigilantes walked up to one another and traded back their weapons, Nathan grinning at Sara under his mask, then they moved off after Xavier.

Xavier was sneaking around, his SCAR in hand, looking for the crime fighters. "Come on, where are you?" he muttered under his breath. He turned around-

But Huntress was there. She sliced off his one arm with Nathan's Chokuto and then the other arm. She kicked his legs out from under him, dropping him to his knees while she held the sword to his throat.

"You hurt a friend of mine." Sara hissed at him as she and Nate came up to them.

"What?" Xavier gasped through his pain. "Not man enough to kill me yourself so you have to have your slut do it?"

Not even a second later, Helena slit his throat from ear to ear. Xavier gurgled as he choked on his own life fluids and died.

 **"I really hate that word."** She said as she gave Nathan's chokuto back to him.

They all heard a faint grunting sound as it turned out to be Ezra Barnes. He was trying to crawl away, which was hard with a arrow through his shoulder.

Nathan stalked over to Ezra, placing his foot on his back, stopping him from moving. Nate grasped the arrow and slowly twisted it, making Ezra grunt in pain before harshly pulling it out. Ignoring Ezra's scream of pain, Nate nocked the arrow and pointed it at Ezra's skull.

 **"You don't deserve to wear that uniform."** He said as he let the arrow fly, watching as the tip came out the front of Ezra skull.

 **QC**

 **Next day**

Nathan was sitting in his office, sipping some coffee watching the news on his computer.

 _'Demonstrations opposing the construction of the new Star Lab's particle accelerator have reached a fever pitch with five more protestors being arrested.'_

 _'In other news, despite the attack by the gang leader known as the Major, the recent cash for guns event sponsored by Queen Consolidated held in the Glades is credited for getting over 1000 weapons off the streets.'_ Nathan leaned down, looking at the screen. _'Many are giving thanks to Mr. Nathaniel Queen for making this City a little safer.'_ He switched it off.

 **Starling General**

 **Same Time**

Roy and Thea were dozing on a seat outside of Sin's room when the doctor came out.

"Mr. Harper?" he said, getting the boy's attention.

Roy started awake, alarmed. "What's wrong, is she ok?" he asked. The doctor merely nodded, then walked off. Roy jumped to his feet and ran into the room to see Sin, awake, sitting up in the bed.

"Hey." She said as he took a seat next to her bed. "You saved my life. I guess I have to keep your secret now, huh?" she looked past Roy to see Thea walking in. "You know you're dating a moron, right?' she told her.

Thea gave her a small grin. "It's my first and last thought of every day." She replied.

"Crap." Sin looked back to Roy. "I like her." The three chuckled.

Outside the room Sara looked in, making sure she was okay. Seeing that she was, she pulled the ball cap low and walked off. Down the hall she stopped as Nathan came up to her.

"The Girl." He said softly. "I took care of her medical expenses."

"Thank you." Sara replied. "Look, I don't want Thea to see me—"

"What's your plan, Sara?" Nathan asked. "Because right now, you just… well, you're whipping across rooftops and keeping watch over your family like some sort of ghost."

"We're both ghosts." Sara said sadly. "We died on that island."

"No, we didn't." Nathan shot back. "We both lived. And I get that you have been in pain so long that it probably just feels normal now. But you can let it go and come home." He pleaded. "I mean, I know that the Undertaking brought you here, but your family kept you here. You have to tell them, Sara. They need you." He emphasized.

"You told them that I died on 'The Gambit'." Sara pointed out. "If they know the truth—"

"They would never- they would never talk to me again." Nathan said, laughing humorlessly. "Not one of them. But it'd be worth it."

 **AA Meeting**

Lance was speaking. "My daughter's in trouble." He was saying. "She's, uh, she's been through some really terrible things. And Instead of facing up to them, she's running away from them." At Laurels apartment, Laurel popped a couple of her father's Oxycodone, then downed it with a glass of red wine.

"She's losing herself in her work, and maybe even worse. She's my daughter, I just want her safe, I want to protect her." At the hospital, Nathan held out a hand to Sara, and hesitantly she took it. He led her down the hall and out of the hospital towards an uncertain future. "But I guess like we say in our meetings, more will be revealed."

 **Flashback**

 _On the ''Amazo'', a pair of pirates opened Nathan's cell and dragged him out. He screamed slightly in pain. The leader looked at him with cold eyes. "Your days of screaming are just beginning." He promised cruelly. The pirates dragged him through the ship, dumping him in some sort of lab. They left, closing the door, and Nathan looked up to see a pair of black boots standing in front of him. He continued looking up following the legs to the torso, to finally the head-_

 _Of Sara Lance._

 _He looked at her in confusion. "How?" he muttered as she stared back impassively._

 **Flashback end**

A gangbanger named Joe Plumber was strapped to a chair with a bag over his head. Suddenly the bag was removed, and Joe looked up to see a young patrol officer who had arrested him standing there.

He looked around in confusion, squinting at the harsh light given off by a set of shop lights.

"What the hell is this?" he demanded. "This ain't the police station." The cop stepped aside, and a new man walked in. He was dressed in slacks, a red shirt, and a blue windbreaker with the collar popped up. But what was really distinctive was the mask. It was brown leather, shaped like a skull, and concealed the man's face entirely except for the eyes, which regarded Joe coldly. "Why are you wearing that mask?"

 **"This city is in chains, and I'm going to free it."** The man in the skull mask said. He stepped aside so that another man, this one carrying a syringe filled with a green liquid, could approach the bound man. **"But to do that, I need an army."**

"Whoa, what's in that thing?!" Joe said in a panic as the third man injected the green serum into his arm. "Get that off me! Get that shitaway from me!" the injection finished, the man pulled the needle free and stepped back. Skull man stepped forward again.

 **"Are you ready to serve?"** he asked. Joe tensed as the serum coursed through his veins, and then screamed out in pain. He screamed for several moments before he finally died, his head dropping to his chest, and crimson tears of blood running out of the corners of his eyes.

The man pulled off the mask, revealing the face of Sebastian Blood. An angry Sebastian Blood. The plans for Nathaniel Queen had so far not worked. Queen flat out didn't trust him and more or less refused to associate with him unless absolutely necessary. And he had secretly dropped the hint that to Xavier about that Gun buyback event so he could take a stand to look strong in front of many people to increase his prospects of becoming Mayor, but Queen had ripped that opportunity out from under him.

Blood sighed in disappointment. "Bring me another." He ordered the cop.

"Yes, Brother Blood." The cop replied.

 **Chapter end**

 **Next Chapter: The League of Assassins**


	24. Chapter 24 - League of Assassins

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth 2 Laurel Lance (eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Dinah Drake, McKenna Hall, Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller, Earth 0 Laurel**

 **AN: So, I added Imra Ardeen/ Saturn Girl from Supergirl to the potential Harem, mostly because her actress is fucking hot.**

 **Chapter 24: The League of Assassin's**

 _ **6 years ago**_

 _The Gambit' was sailing through stormy weather._

 _Inside the yacht, Sara Lance lay back on Oliver's bed, clothed in only a black silk robe with floral patterns and white lacy underwear, while she talked to her father over the phone._

 _"Yeah, Dad, college is great." She lied. "No, me and my new roommate totally hit it off." She grinned at Oliver, who sat in a chair facing the bed. "We're like besties. Ok. Yeah, dad, I got to get back to chem lab."_

 _Oliver laughed quietly and rose, stalking playfully towards the bed. He whispered 'Get off the phone!' as Sara tried to wrap up the call. "Yes. It looks like I got a long night ahead of me." She giggled at Oliver. "Love you, Dad. Bye." She hung up and tossed the phone to Oliver, who in turned tossed it to the floor. "Ollie. You are trouble." She said with a smile._

 _"How is Detective Lance?" Oliver asked._

 _"Ah, he's clueless, as usual." Sara said, then taking note of Oliver's face as it was begin to swell up, "What happened to your face?"_

 _"It's was my brother. He's jealous that you're on board here with me." Oliver proclaimed arrogantly._

 _Sara said nothing, though it pleased her that the man she really loved was jealous. Hopefully, she'd only have to put up with Oliver for a little bit longer. She really didn't want this to be the way she got to together with Nate, but damn it! Nothing else seemed to work. She loved Nate but he was so clueless when it came to her feelings for him._

 _She finished off her glass of white wine, then held it out to him for a refill. "Guess I was thirsty." Oliver walked over to refill her glass as more thunder boomed around them. Sara looked at the dimming lights in worry. "Did you hear that?" she asked nervously. "It's getting closer."_

 _"That's not very scientific." Oliver said teasingly._

 _"What would you know about science, Mr. Ivy League dropout?" she asked as he brought two glasses of wine to the bed._

 _"I happen to know a lot about science." Oliver said, handing her a glass. "I know about fermentation. I know biology…" he trailed off as he kissed her. The broke apart and Sara leaned back smiling._

 _"Laurel's gonna kill me." She said, putting the glass down on the nightstand. "Oh, she's so gonna kill me."_

 _"Your sister will never know." Oliver assured her, pressing her down into the mattress. "Come here."_

 _Sara laughed and they kissed some more, and suddenly there was a loud crack of thunder. Sara broke away, slightly panicked. "Ok, that one was really close." She said nervously._

 _"Sara," Oliver said, grinning at the girl, "we're gonna be fine." Suddenly, without warning, The boat was rocked apart by an explosion. The wall split apart and a pipe ran Oliver through, the point coming out of his chest. Oliver gasped as blood filled his mouth. He reached the for the pipe that was sticking out of his chest. But within seconds, he fell limp, the light going out behind his eyes._

 _"Aah!" Sara screamed._

 _Nate sprung up at the feminine scream and ran outside to see everyone running, as a red emergency light flashed repeatedly. Sprinting down the hallway he opened the door to see a pipe had fallen through Oliver's room and ran him through while Sara was on the ground sobbing._

 _"Sara! Come on, the ship is going down."_

 _'"Ollie, he's dead!" Sara sobbed._

 _"Sara, if we don't move we will be too, now come on!" Nate said just as the ship turned over causing him to fall over onto the wall and Sara fell through a window and water flooded the room, "Sara!" In the stormy ocean, Sara shot back above water. She gasped for breath, frantically thrashing about trying to keep her head above the rolling waves. She looked around and saw the 'Gambit' slipping into the ocean; heard Nathan cry out for her. "Nathan!" she shouted futilely-_

 _ **Flashback End**_

Then Sara gasped as she woke from the nightmare- one of the milder ones, she knew, but still unsettling. She looked around; taking a moment to recognize the room at Queen Manor that Nathan had lent her.

"Can't sleep?" Nate asked, figuring that was it. He was sleeping in the same bed as her, but he was sleeping on top of the covers while she was sleeping under them, and he was catching of up on _A Dance with Dragons_.

"I don't do well with my eyes closed." She replied as she flopped back on the bed. "Hey, thanks for letting me stay here. I know you got a lot going on with your mom."

"Thea's mostly staying at her boyfriend's, and even though I own this whole mansion, I mostly stay at my loft uptown." Nathan explained. "So… don't worry about anyone finding out that you're back."

"Thanks for understanding." Sara said.

"I really don't understand." He replied, as he flipped a page. "You know, not a day goes by that your family doesn't miss you." He told her.

"Yeah? How would you know?" she asked snappily. Nathan closed his book and looked her dead in the eye.

"Because I missed you. Everyday, for 5 years." He admitted with passion and sincerity.

Sara sighed. "I don't think they'll be as happy to see me as you are." She said.

"What makes you say that?" Nathan asked as he readjusted his position so he was laying on his side. "I know how hard it is to come home when you've been gone for so long."

She smiled sadly as she turned on her side to look at him. "I'm guessing my father and Laurel weren't too happy to see you." She said.

"No." Nathan chuckled. "No, not at first."

"I wasn't sure if you and she ever tried to get together." Sara wondered.

"There was one time where we could have." He admitted. "It's too much for me back then."

"Yeah some things, you know, it's better left in the past." Sara advised.

Nathan moved a little closer to her, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, while she laid her head on his chest, and they both tried to sleep.

 **Iron Heights**

 **Next Day**

At Iron Heights Moira, Janet and Thea sat across from Donner and his second on the case waiting for Nathan to arrive. Finally, though, Donner had had enough.

"I'm done waiting for Mr. Queen. Let's get started." He said briskly.

Just then, Nathan was escorted in. "Apologies for the tardiness. I was catching up with an old friend who's… in… town." He trailed off as he saw Laurel sitting next to Donner.

"I just finished explaining to your mother and sister that Miss Lance will be sitting second chair for the prosecution." Donner said smugly.

"This is a conflict of interest." Jean replied brusquely. "Miss Lance practically grew up in the Queen house."

"I think you're overstating matters." Donner shot back confidently.

"Oh, we'll see when I move to conflict Miss Lance off this case." Jean replied. Nathan stared at Laurel in shock. Laurel, for her part, couldn't meet his eyes.

"Maybe there won't be a case much longer." Donner said, reaching into his briefcase. "I come here not just with Miss Lance, but also with a plea offer." He pulled out the offer and slid it across to Jean. "Life, with the possibility of parole."

"No." Jean shook her head, sliding it back. "We are not pleading out. Mrs. Queen is innocent."

"She aided and abetted an act of mass murder." Donner said.

"Under duress from a homicidal maniac named Malcolm Merlyn." Jean reminded him.

"With Malcolm Merlyn dead, a jury's going to want to have to blame someone." He pointed out.

"If she doesn't take the deal, then she's facing the death penalty." Laurel added.

"Sounds a lot like blackmail." Thea spat back at her.

"Try reality." Donner said smugly. "And here's some more- we've subpoenaed over a decades' worth of phone messages, phone records, letters and emails. I'm willing to bet I find something that crushes your duress defense to powder."

"Mr. Donner. If you don't mind, I'd like a few days to consider your offer." Moira said, speaking for the first time.

"Of course." He said with a smile. He grabbed his case and rose, allowing the guard to open the door.

Laurel quickly grabbed her things. "Excuse me." She said quietly, not making eye contact, and then hurried out after her boss.

Moira looked at her son, noticing the look on his face, and placed her hand on his, "I know that look."

"Hmm?" Nathan asked.

Moira stared her soon, who was clenching his fist so hard the knuckles on his hand had turned white. "Nathan, the last time I saw that look on your face was when you're 7th grade classmate was bullying Thea, and you beat him up so bad that you put him in the hospital. Whatever you're thinking, don't do it. He's still a Assistant District Attorney."

Nathan stared after Laurel. "I'll be back in a sec." He told the others, and then exited as well.

Nathan caught up to her just after she exited the prison. "Laurel?" he called out, halting her in her steps. Both she and Donner turned towards him, and Nathan stopped right in front of Laurel, sending a harsh glare at Donner that said 'I'll fuck you up right now if you don't leave.'

Donner took the hint. "I'll meet you at the car." He said, moving off towards their vehicle.

After he left, Nathan turned on Laurel. "You're prosecuting my mother?" he hissed incredulously.

"I didn't ask for this case." She protested. "I was assigned."

"So say no!" Nathan demanded.

"It's a new job, Nathan." She argued. "I don't have a lot of pull. And what pull I do have, I used to get that plea bargain for your mother." She added, hopeful.

"This was your idea of good deal!? Life in prison!?" Nathan replied angrily. So much for hope.

"The D.A. is serious about the death penalty, Nate." She told him. "We both know what it's like to lose someone. So think about it and save your mother's life."

Nathan stepped back and regarded her. "Are you ok?" he asked.

She huffed in annoyance. "In case I wasn't clear last week I'm done answering that question." With that, she turned and walked off towards the car.

 **Queen Manor**

 **Noon**

Sara was in the foyer, circling around the small table set there and looking at the pictures displayed. She smiled at a picture of a young Nathan, then stopped and reached out to a picture of the 'Queen's Gambit'. She picked it up and stared at it, then looked past it to the sun shining through the windows, remembering…

 _ **FLashback**_

 _ **6 years ago**_

 _Sara, having survived the sinking of the 'Gambit', lay on a piece of floating debris, half delirious from exposure and dehydration._

 _Something catches her eye, and she turns her head to see a yellow canary land on another piece of floating detritus. The bird chirps happily at her, then flew away-_

 _Heading towards a large steamer ship._

 _Sara looked at the ship and felt hope for the first time in days. Weakly she started waving her arm and calling out to them. "Help! Help! Over here!"_

 _"Sara?"_

 _ **Flashback End**_

"Sara." She looked up to see Nathan walking in, and hastily put the picture back down. "You ok?" he asked.

"How did everything go with your mother?" she dodged.

"I ran into your sister." He said with a frustrated sigh. "She's working on the case."

"You didn't tell her…"

"No." he assured her with a tight smile. "I know a little something about keeping secrets and respecting them, even though I don't totally understand why you're keeping yours." She sighed and turned away, crossing her arms. Nathan moved around the table towards her. "Is this- is it because of what happened on the island?" he asked hesitantly.

"No." she said, turning back towards him. "After. There were things that I did; things that I had to do to survive." She explained vaguely. "Things that there's no forgiveness for."

"Well, that's the thing about forgiveness- you can't get it until you ask for it." He told her.

Then the window over the front doors shattered as a man leapt through it. He landed on the banister in a crouch, and then jumped down to the floor. He rose; a sword in his hand, but Nathan was mad. And for a good reason.

It was a member of the League.

"Great," He said, "as if my day wasn't already bad".

The man said nothing, merely attacked. He swung his sword at Sara, and she moved back. Nathan landed a kick to the back of his leg, and then ducked as the man swung the sword at him. They traded blows at a furious pace, and then he and Sara fell back to the sitting room, tossing a chair over to slow the assassin. The attacker leapt and rolled over the chair to pursue.

Sara reached up and yanked down a long piece of solid wood molding, using it as an impromptu staff. She hit the man in the stomach, driving him back a few steps, but missed the follow up swing to the head. The Assassin brought the sword down at her head, but she used the staff to block it, allowing Nathan to land a solid punch to the assassin's head. The attacker struck back, sending Nathan crashing into the couch, then fended off Sara's attack. He grabbed the end of her staff with one hand and brought his sword down, cleaving through it. He used the broken piece against Nathan, smashing it into his head and sending him stumbling back, then whipped it around at Sara, stunning her and leaving her open for several quick jabs to the head with his sword hand. The added weight of the hilt stunned her even more, and he quickly sent her to the ground.

Nathan pulled out a Gerber Mark II that he kept on him and renewed his attack, using it to block the assassin's sword and making several cuts to the man's head and chest. The assassin swung his sword around at Nathan's head but Nathan grabbed his arm, twisting the wrist until the assassin dropped the Kris. Nathan grabbed the Kris and kicked the assassin in the chest, sending him stumbling to the floor. The impact stunned the man long enough for Nathan to stalk over and haul him to a sitting position, where he reached up and ripped off the man's mask. He looked at the old Arabian man underneath the mask. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Just a warrior." He said. He looked past Nathan to Sara, who looked back in dread. Then he looked back at Nathan. "Like you." He replied.

"Did the Demon's Head send you?" he growled, causing Sara to look at him in shock, as Nathan held the man's sword to his crotch. "Or was it the Heir?"

The man responded by knocking away throwing a dagger at the chandelier that was hanging over Sara's prone form. There was a bright flash as the power cord was cut, and the chandelier fell down to the ground, just missing Sara who rolled out of the way. It landed with a deafening crash, and when Nathan tuned back to the assassin, the man had disappeared.

 **Lair**

 **Later**

Sara and Nathan, cleaned up, were in the Lair. Sara was looking around while Nathan sat at the evidence table, examining some he had collected from the attacker.

Sara stopped in front of the glass case, looking at Nathan's old uniform, which he kept on display. "I remember the first time I saw this hood." She said in fond remembrance. "Shado was wearing it. It was Green back then." She turned back to Nathan. "This is quite the set-up that you got here." She told him. "Where you're launching your one man war for Starling."

"While I admit I'm currently the only man down here, I didn't say anything about being the only one waging a war on crime." Nathan said, turning in his chair as Lyla, Helena, and Chien came into the room. "These are my friends. This is Lyla Michaels, Helena Bertinelli, and Chien. There's another member but she's not here right now." He introduced, then looked to Sara. "Guys, this is Sara."

"Welcome home, Sara." Lyla said.

Sara smiled. "Thank you."

"We just had an uninvited guest in the Queen mansion." Nathan continued. "Trained. Highly skilled. An assassin from the League."

That got their attention. "Why would they be after you? Don't tell me they're trying to avenge Merlyn." Chien said with her arms crossed.

"That's because he wasn't targeting me," Nathan said as he looked at Sara, who's back was turned, "He's after Sara."

Sara stood tense, her arms crossed, still facing the glass case. "How did you know?" She said suddenly, turning to face the group.

Nathan looked at her. "The way you moved." Sara looked at him for a explanation. "When we teamed up against Xavier Reed, the way you fought gave you away. Let's just say that I know some of the League's way's myself, from some of my teachers."

Sara sighed.

Nathan pressed onward. "Who is he?"

"He's called Al Ow-al, 'The First'." She told him. "And he's Elder of the League of Assassins."

Nathan looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean, Elder?"

"Ra's al Ghul is a title, just like Elder is. The title of Elder goes to the oldest member living who is not Ra's al Ghul. There are several positions of Power within the League. There is Ra's al Ghul or Demon's Head, and overall leader of the League. Warith al Ghul, or Heir to the Demon, is right below Ra's al Ghul, and their orders are superseded only by Ra's himself. Horseman is the title given to the League's best hunter and Ra's personal right hand. The Elder is responsible for overseeing the majority of the Training that the recruits undergo. The Savant is the head Librarian and keeper of Knowledge within the League. And finally, the Dhanvan is the League's head physician. They can typically be identified by the fact that they are the only one's in the League allowed to wear necklaces, to denote their status."

Sara stared up at him sadly. "After the freighter, a member of the league rescued me; took me in and brought me to Nanda Parbat. They remade me into what I am." She told him. "And I swore them my allegiance."

"Why are they kicking down doors trying to find you now?" Lyla asked.

She looked over at the bodyguard. "Because I left." She said. "And short of a blessing from Ra's, there's only way that you leave the league."

"Is that why you didn't want to see your family?" Nathan asked.

Sara sighed and turned back to him. "A year ago, I was in Guyana. I was sent there for a man named Suarez. He was a local diplomat. And I slit his throat." She explained, looking over at the girls. "In his bed. And his kids…" she shuddered. "They found his body in the morning." She looked up at the she loved. "I'm a murderer, Nate. You think that my family will be happy to see me?"

"If you're looking for someone to tear you down, Sara, you've come to the wrong place." Nathan said coldly as he gestured to himself and his girlfriends. "Everyone in this room has killed people."

He gestured to Lyla. "Lyla here is a former Special Forces veteran, serving several tours in Iraq, before she joined up with Argus. She's had to kill her fair share of people."

He gestured to Chien next, "Chien here grew up with abusive parents before she was given a new lease on life by the Triad and became it's #1 assassin. She's killed plenty of people."

He gestured to Helena next. "Helena killed members of her father's organization that she had known her whole life, before ultimately killing her own father to get revenge for the death of her former fiancée."

"And me," Nathan said as he walked up to Sara until he was barely 2 inches apart from her, "I killed a man I once brother after he betrayed. I tortured a corrupt military official for murdering a young boy that I called friend to the point where most men would vomit themselves. I was forced to kill a woman that I loved to save her from herself because she became corrupted by dark magic and was a danger to everyone. And just last year, I killed the man I once happily called Uncle!"

He calmed himself down and and then addressed Sara again, "So, before you go accusing yourself of being a monster, remember this. A true monster feels no remorse, no guilt, no sorrow, no love. The fact that you do, means you are not one."

Nathan's phone buzzing grabbed his attention. He pulled it out and looked at and saw a text from Thea- _::Where Are You?::_ "I have to get back to Iron Heights." He said, putting the phone back into his pocket. "Use whatever means necessary to find AL Ow-al." he looked briefly back at Sara, then turned and walked out.

Sara stared back, but her mind was in a different place.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _"Thank you, thank you." Sara was said as she was led through the dimly lit corridors of the Amazo, escorted by two pirates._

 _"What were you doing out there?" the leader asked._

 _"The boat that I was on, and we got caught in the storm." She stammered out. Annoyed, the pirates grabbed her by the arms and started dragging her along. "Wait, wait, wait, guys!" she screamed in a panic. She tripped and started to fall, so the two men simply lifted her off her feet and walked with her down the corridor. "Wait! I-Robert Queen. Robert Queen. It was his boat, and-and- he'll pay whatever you want, please!" she begged. They dragged her into the main area of the ships, and she looked on in horror as she saw all of the cells. "Please, please! Please, no! Please, please!" They dragged her over to one and threw her in, slamming the door shut and ignoring her cries. "Please, no! No! You've made a mistake. Please let me out!" she cried._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Iron Heights**

Nathan was let into the visitor's room, entering just as Thea exclaimed "You cannot be serious!"

"What's going on here?" Nathan asked.

"She wants to take the deal!" Thea exclaimed.

"What!?" Nathan turned to Moira. "Mom, if this is about the death penalty—"

"I've been explaining this to your mother." Jean said with a sigh. "Even if we ever get to sentencing, you were acting under duress. I have everything I need to keep them from sentencing you to death." She argued.

"The death penalty doesn't scare me, Jean." Moira said calmly.

"Then why aren't you fighting?" Nathan asked.

"I have my reasons."

"Name one." Thea demanded.

"Because I'm tired of fighting." Moira shot back tiredly. "I am not confident that I can win over a jury. And I'm not altogether certain that I deserve to."

"That was actually three." Thea growled.

"Thea—"

"No, seriously, you're just ready to give up?!" she said hotly. "Just take your medicine and spend the rest of your life in here. We still need you. I still need you!" she emphasized. Thea shook her head and threw up her hands. "I-I can't take this." Thea said, storming out of the room. Jean sighed, and walked out after her. Moira sat down, tiredly.

Nathan regarded his mother. "Growing up I didn't think that there were secrets kept between us." He started. "Last year I learned different. And I've gotten pretty good at knowing when you're hiding something from me." He took her hands in his. "So, Mom… what are you hiding now?"

Moira stared back at her son. "Help your sister come to terms with my choice, because it's made." She told him, to his disappointment.

 **Lair**

 **Later**

Lyla looked up as Nathan made his way down the stairs. "How'd it go with your mother?" she asked.

"Badly." Nathan replied tersely. He walked over to Lyla. "Have you found somebody for me to skewer yet?"

"Could be." She sat at her computer and pulled up a map of the city. A location was marked per her results. "Spectro analysis of the dirt from your house had trace amounts of aldicarb in them."

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"It's a pesticide. Starling City used to have its own aldicarb plant, but per the EPA, it was shut down three years ago."

"What's it being used for now?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing." She replied. "It's abandoned. But my guess is, it's the home base to one League of Assassins Elder."

Nathan walked over to the weapons case and grabbed his bow. Sara was right behind him. "He will kill you." She said.

"If I were really easy to kill, Merlyn and Slade would be the ones alive right now." Nathan shot back.

"This is my fight." Sara tried to argue.

"He made it my fight when he came into my house." He looked her in the eye. "And when he threatened the life of somebody that I love."

 **Aldicarb Plant**

Inside, Al Ow-al was sharpening his sword on a whetstone. He finished and lifted the blade, running his hand gently over it to inspect it. Suddenly, he sensed another presence in the factory and smiled. Without turning, he caught the arrow that would have split his skull… then turned with a grin.

"Arrows. Such an ineffective projectile." He called out in amusment. "I find it strange anyone who still fears them."

 **"Tell that to 1000+ people I've put 6 feet under with those arrows. You'll learn the hard way if you don't go back to Nanda Parbat, Elder."** Prometheus called out from the shadows. **"This is your only warning."**

"And it would be effective, were you to pose a threat to me." He called back cheerfully. "You barely defeated Malcolm Merlyn at the cost of your mentor's life." He pointed out, unaware of the connection between the Arrow and Prometheus. He came around a corner and saw The Prometheus standing on a small ledge above him "What hope would you have against the man who trained him?" he asked.

 **"If you're the one who trained him, then you'll die just the same as he did."** Nathan replied, causing Al Ow-al's cool expression to break just a little at the obvious insult. " **Plus, it helps that I didn't come alone."**

Al Ow-al turned to see Huntress on the catwalk next to him, and The Canary standing on a catwalk behind him, her staff slung over one shoulder. "The child of Ra's al Ghul awaits your return." He called out to her.

"I'm not going back." Sara said.

"That's not your choice to make." Al Ow-al replied. "I have orders to return you- alive or dead."

"You're not going to kill me." Sara said.

"You overestimate your importance to the League." He said. "Regardless, you're coming back with us."

Nathan didn't miss it. **"Us?"** he growled.

Al Ow-al turned back to Nathan with a grin. "Like you, I did not come alone."

Two more assassins climbed down from the rafters, flanking Sara. She took a beat to look at both before beginning the fight. Another dropped behind Helena, to which she turned around as he pulled out his katana and she did the same with her machete. As two girls took on the three, Nathan fired an arrow at the Elder, who dodged neatly out of the way.

Seeing as arrows weren't enough for this guy, he jumped down, engaging the assassin in hand to hand combat. He blocked his sword with his bow and punched back. The group moved on two levels, trading blows but never landing a critical hit. Al Ow-al swung high, but Nathan duck and his sword punctured a steam pipe. Nathan followed that up with a low kick that sent the assassin sprawling to the floor. Helena managed to successfully get the upper hand on her assassin when she stabbed him through the chest. On the catwalk, Sara was holding her own, but one of the assassins finally managed to slash her in the back. Sara cried out in pain, drawing Nathan's attention. He quickly fired an arrow that took away one of the assassin's blades, allowing Sara to knock him down. Nathan then fired a zip line, then rode it up, grabbing Sara and Helena as he went. They rose to the roof, crashing through the skylight as Al Ow-al looked up at them escaping.

"If you will not return willingly, we'll stay to bury your family." he called out.

 **Lair**

 **An hour later**

Sara was leaned over a table, her shirt off and her face impassive as Nathan stitched up the wound near her spine.

Nathan finished and touched her on the shoulder. "Done." He said. He turned away and moved over to Lyla as Helena handed Sara a new shirt. "The League of Assassins." He whispered to her. "Why wouldn't she tell me what happened to her all those years?" he wondered.

"Traumatic experiences have a way of making one closed off to their humanity. You should know that better than anybody." Lyla observed.

Nathan sighed. "We need to protect the Lances." He said. "I'll handle Laurel."

"What can I do?" Sara asked.

"Nothing." He said at once. "That cut was close to your spine. You need to give that a chance to heal, and you need to stay here."

"What about my father?" she asked.

"I'll shadow him." Helena offered.

She watched as the pair left, then turned to Chien. "You four are quite the team." She offered.

The white haired woman smiled. "We have our moments." She replied.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _ **6 Years Ago**_

 _Sara lay in her cell, cold and alone. Her eyes snapped open as she heard men banging on her cell door. "Get up." The pirate ordered as he opened the door. His partner stalked into the cell._

 _"Get back." She said, panicked. He ignored her and grabbed her arm, yanking her up. "No, no, please!" she yelled as he dragged her out of the cell. The two men started dragging her across the room towards four other men. She started struggling even harder. "Please, please, no!"_

 _"The more you struggle; the more it'll hurt." The pirate said._

 _"No, no, please! Please!" she screamed._

 _"Wait." A new voice said. The men parted to reveal another man, white with graying hair dressed in casual clothes and a windbreaker. "Let her go." He ordered._

 _The pirate sneered at the man. "You don't give me orders." He growled._

 _"No, that would be the Captain." The man said, walking forward towards the pirate. "But he works for me. Doesn't he?" he asked rhetorically. The pirate growled in annoyance, but obeyed, throwing Sara at him. He caught her and wrapped his arm around her._

 _"Help me, please!" she begged._

 _"Come here." He told her softly, leading her out of the cell block and away from the would-be rapists._

 _ **Flashback End  
**_

 **D.A.'s Office**

Laurel was shutting down her computer for the night when Nathan came in.

"Hey." He said with a smile.

"I should have said this earlier, but it's not appropriate for us to be discussing your mother's case." Laurel said at once.

"Actually, I was in the neighborhood, so I thought that I would swing by and see if I could give you a ride home and maybe get a bite to eat." He said with a smile.

Laurel sighed as she hefted her purse. "It's been a long day." She said. "I don't need an even longer night of you trying to talk me out of your mother's plea agreement."

"Laurel." Nathan said, getting her attention. "I promise, this has nothing to do with my mother's case. You've had a rough couple of weeks." He continued. "You really going to tell me you couldn't use your oldest friend?" he smiled at her, and she returned it. He took her arm. "Come on." He said, leading her out.

 **Lair**

 **2 hours later**

Lyla looked up as Helena walked in. "Hey. How'd it go?" she asked.

"Badly." She said, tossing her coat onto her chair before dropping into it, before she began working on treating her wounds. "I had to fend off another attack." She looked up at Lyla. "What should we do? We can't fend them off forever."

Sara made the decision for them by grabbing her coat and hat.

"What are you doing?" Helena asked.

"Nathan told you to stay put." Lyla added. "I thought you didn't want your father to know you're still alive."

"I don't." she replied as she walked to the exit. "But it's better than him not being alive." She stopped, staring as Lyla slipped a fresh clip into her gun. "Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"With you." Lyla replied, tucking the gun into her waistband. "I'm not going to let you go out there without any back-up."

"Lyla, you may be a three tour Special Forces veteran, but I was trained by the people that make the Special Forces look like a kindergarten class." She said harshly. "So step aside or get put down."

Lyla stared at her, but then stepped aside. "It's your funeral, Sara." She said.

"It wouldn't be my first." She said, walking past him.

 **Lance's apartment building**

Lance walked out, intending to head to his car but as he looked around the darkened streets. He paused, looking around but saw nothing. He moved on to his car, and had just about reached it when a small group of kids crossed the street behind him, chattering loudly and startling the cop. He watched them go, and then shook his head in annoyance. He pulled out his keys, and then froze as he heard someone behind him.

As fast as he could, he jammed his keys back into his pocket and reached for his gun, drawing and spinning around to see a female figure shrouded in darkness. After a moment's hesitation, she moved forward, revealing herself as Sara.

Quentin shook his head, his gun still fixed on her. "No, it can't be. It can't be Sara." He said in a raspy voice.

"It's me." She said tearfully. "It's Sara." She staggered over to him, her emotions running wild, and gently reached up and pushed his gun down. "Daddy… It's ok."

"Sara?" she collapsed into his arms. "Sara?" he said again, unable to believe it. Finally he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "Sara!" he cried as the tears started to fall.

 _ **FLashback**_

 _ **6 Years Ago**_

 _The man led Sara into a large room in the rear of the ship. "I'm afraid it's not much, but, uh It's home." He said, turning to close and lock the hatch behind him._

 _Sara spun and looked at him fearfully. "Why did you lock the door?" she stammered out, eyes wide._

 _The man instantly realized what it looked like. "No, no, no, no. It's not because…" he held out a calming hand and sighed. "It's just a habit." He told her. "My shipmates aren't exactly the nicest bunch." He walked down the small staircase to the center of the room. "Please, come in. Have a seat." He offered. Sara timidly followed him down and sat in the comfortable looking seat while the man walked over to a desk._

 _He was flipping through his notes, but looked back when he heard her crying. Sighing, he grabbed a stool and walked back to Sara, setting the stool down in front of her before taking a seat. "My name is Ivo." He said, introducing himself. "Dr. Anthony Ivo. And you are?"_

 _"Sara." She said softly._

 _"Nice to meet you, Sara."_

 _"Why do you keep those people down there in those cells?" she asked._

 _"It's my work." Ivo said. "I need them."_

 _"What work?"_

 _He paused a moment before speaking. "I am going to save the human race, Sara." He said, and then leaned in close. "Maybe you can help me."_

 _ **Flashback End  
**_

 **Laurel's Apartment**

Nathan was walking Laurel back up to her apartment.

"I noticed you didn't have a drink at dinner." He said pleasantly.

"No. I didn't." she replied, a bit smugly. "So will you now admit that you and my father overreacted last week when you thought that I was becoming a drunk?"

"I am prepared to admit that I care deeply about you." Nathan hedged.

"Is that why you insisted on walking me to my door?" she asked coyly.

"You know me." Nathan replied. "I just wanted to make sure you were safe."

"This is safe." She said with a smile, leaning in for a kiss.

He pulled back. "This..." he said, holding her gently away. "We shouldn't."

Laurel looked at him in confusion. "Then why did you come all the way up here?" she asked.

"I'm really sorry. I wasn't trying to send that kind of message. I'm not the guy who cheats on his girlfriends, Laurel." Nathan started.

"No! No, no, I got the message." Laurel said, sobering instantly. "I get it loud and clear every day. Run. Run, run away from Laurel, run as fast as you can."

"Laurel, don't say that." He tried.

"Sara… she got on 'The Gambit' with your brother." She said. "My father, he- he climbed into a bottle. My mother, she-she climbed into her car and she drove away, and then Tommy…" she took a shuddering breath and tears. "What is so wrong with me that everybody leaves?"

"Hey, Don't say that." Nathan said firmly. "There is nothing wrong with you, I'm the one with the problem. I just feel like too much has passed between us that we wouldn't work as a couple."

"But I swear to you, I will always be here for you." He promised.

"Until you're not." She said sadly. She turned to go into her apartment- only to see the door was slightly ajar. She looked at it, frowning. "I thought I locked that." She said.

Nathan looked at the door warily. "Stay here." He told her. Cautiously, he entered the apartment. He moved slowly through the darkened apartment, and his frown turned into a scowl when he saw the blade stuck into the frame of a door. He pulled it out and began examining it. He gripped it hard, his teeth grinding in anger. He put the knife away.

"Nate?" Laurel called, walking into the apartment. "Anything?" she asked.

"All good." He said. "I have to go." He said softly.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what I said—"

"Don't be." Nathan replied, gently touching her arm. "Just stay here." He smiled and walked out, closing the door behind him. Laurel sighed and dropped her purse onto the end table, then opened it to pull out her bottle of Oxycodone. She popped a few pills and closed her eyes, feeling the drugs beginning to take effect.

Out in the hall, Nathan was calling the Lair. "Lyla, Al Ow-al was at Laurel's place." He said when she picked up.

"What? Is she ok?" she asked.

"She's fine." Nathan replied. "Looks like he moved on long before we got there."

"But if Laurel's not his target…" Laurel started.

"He's after Lance, and I need a location now." Nathan finished.

Lyla relayed the coordinates to Nathan.

 **Clock Tower**

"Well, I can't believe I didn't think to look for you up here." Lance said as Sara led him in to her hideout.

"It's a good vantage point." She said. "You can see the whole city."

"Like a bird on a wire." Lance said dryly.

Sara chuckled. "Where I was, they have you choose a new name." she said. "I chose Ta-er al-Sahfer. It's Arabic. For Canary."

"I bought you that Canary when you were ten." Lance noted, watching as Sara moved around, gathering up equipment.

"I was as far from home as you can get, but I never forgot where I came from." She said. She turned back to her father. "You know how they say the first thing you forget about somebody when they're gone is their voice?" she asked. "You can remember their face, and the way they move, but you can't hold on to the way they sound." She touched him gently on the cheek. "I never forgot your voice, Dad."

Sweetheart—" he started.

"We're out of time." Sara said, sensing more people in the room. She spun, whipping out her staff, to face Al Ow-al and his two minions.

Lance stepped back, drawing his gun.

"So, this is where you wanted your father to die." Al Ow-al said.

"What the hell, Sara, who are these guys?" Lance demanded.

"Associates of your daughter, Officer Lance." Al Ow-al said.

"Well, she always did have the worst taste in friends." Lance noted sarcastically.

"Did you really think we weren't going to find you here?" he asked.

"No." Sara said, holding her staff out in front of her with both hands. "I knew you would."

"Go!" Al Ow-al Ordered. The two minions rushed at Sara and Lance-

Only for one to get caught in a rope snare. He was pulled upside down and five feet into the air, leaving Sara to face Al Ow-al and Lance to face the second minion.

Lance opened fire, but the assassin leapt and dodged, slipping around the bullets with contemptuous ease. Sara split her staff in two and used the pieces as escrima sticks, pressing the attack against the more experienced assassin. She landed a hard blow against his face, spinning around him and maneuvering him to just the right place. Al Ow-al stepped on a loose board, which in turn activated a nail gun. The gun fired a burst of nails into the man's thigh, sending him to his knees. He looked up at Sara, who stood with her escrima sticks at the ready.

"You should be mindful of your surroundings." She advised. Al Ow-al forced himself back to his feet and resumed the attack. Sara attacked with a new found ferocity, but in the end she was no match for his skill. He landed a slice against her calf, sending her to her knees, and then placed his sword at her neck. In the meantime, the second assassin finally managed to cut himself down.

Al Ow-al pulled off his hood and stood, staring contemptuously at Sara-

Then an arrow flew through the glass face of the clock, embedding on the far wall.

A moment later Prometheus arrived, sliding in on his zip line. He landed in a kneeling skid, taking Al Ow-al's feet out from under him, then attacked the second assassin, blocking the man's axe's with his bow and knocking him out with one punch.

Off to the side, the third assassin was beating down Lance, who had run out of ammo. Lance landed hard on his back as the assassin towered over him.

"Guns are a coward's weapon." He spat. "What are you without your side arm?"

In reply, Lance pulled out his back-up piece- a snub-nosed .38 revolver, and shot the man once in the heart. "A guy with a spare." He quipped dryly, forcing himself to his feet.

He staggered out, standing next to Sara, looking at Prometheus holding Al Ow-al at his mercy.

"You think because you are the beloved you will be granted your freedom?" he assassin spat at Sara.

 **"There's only one freedom from the League."** Prometheus said coldly. **"Let me grant you yours."** With that said, he pulled out the same dagger that Al Ow-al had left at Laurel's and stabbed him in the chest with it. **"You forgot this at Laurel's. Figured I'd return it for you."**

He stalked over to the second assassin, grabbing him the same way he had held Al Ow-al.

 **"Tell Ra's al Ghul that Sara Lance and her family are under my protection. Tell him that if he sends any more assassin's after Sara, they will be killed on sight. The League is not welcome in my city, and if I catch anymore members in this city, I will mail their heads back to Nanda Parbat in a box."** He told the second assassin **. "He wants Sara so badly, he can come and say it to my face."** He threw him to the ground, and in an instant he was out the broken clock face, escaping on the same zip line Nathan had rode in on.

Sara tossed Nathan her staff. "I'm sorry you saw that." She told her father, not looking him in the eye. She was too ashamed for that. "I can't imagine what you must think of me."

"I think you're a survivor." Lance said at once. "I think you're one of the bravest people I've ever known." She looked up at him. "You're my daughter. It's time for you to come back home." He said, pulling her into a hug. She let him hold her for a moment before pulling away.

"I can't." she said sadly.

"Why not?" he demanded.

"They are never going to stop looking for me." Sara said.

"I'll protect you. We'll protect you." He looked back to Prometheus, who was standing silently behind him. "Tell her it's safe to stay."

"Dad," she brought his attention back to her. "If they hurt you or Laurel or mom, then I really would die." She said.

"But they need to know." Lance said.

"They can't. They can't, Daddy." Sara protested.

"Why not?"

"You know why! I came back to make sure that my family was safe, and you are." She explained. "But if they knew I was alive, Laurel and mom, they would never stop looking for me, and that could get them both killed."

Lance pulled her to him again. "I can't let you go." He said, breaking down. "I can't let you go!"

"I have to-Dad, I have to-I have to go." She said pulling away, tears in her eyes as well. "I love you." She looked to Nathan. "Keep them safe." She said, before turning and running out.

 **"Detective,"** Nathan said through the voice changer, **"She's right. You have to keep her secret."**

"It's already the hardest thing I've ever had to do." Lance said sadly. "How do you live like this?" he asked the vigilante. He wasn't okay with his daughter knowing the murderer, but there was nothing he could do about it. Sara always did dance to her own tune.

Nathan had no answer.

 **Iron Heights**

 **Later**

Nathan and Thea entered the visitor's room and have a seat at the table their mother is already occupying.

"I never mind getting a visit from my children, but I know why you're here." She said at once.

"We just have one more thing to say." Nathan began.

"Nathan, we've already been through this." She said. "I am not going to change my mind."

"This is about me changing mine." Nathan interrupted. "Because I thought that you didn't want to go to trial over a secret. Then I caught up with an old friend, and I watched as she struggled to tell her family hers, because she was afraid… that they wouldn't love her if they knew the truth." He told her.

"Whatever you are worried about, it will not make us love you any less." Thea added.

"You don't know." Moira protested.

"Who do you think you raised?" she shot back. "You taught us to be strong. That we could overcome any obstacle that we faced; to fight. Do you really think that we are going to scare that easily?" Thea asked.

"Whatever comes out- you won't lose us." Nathan promised, taking her hand.

"Ever." Thea added, adding her hand to theirs.

"Wow." Moira said after a moment. "I'll instruct Jean to reject Mr. Donner's offer." She relented.

 **DA's Office**

 **Later that night**

Lance stood outside, looking through the glass door at Laurel with a pensive expression on his face. Finally, he entered.

"Hey." Laurel said, seeing him come in. "Dad. I know I owe you a phone call." She sighed wearily. "I have a lot of work. Can we- can we do this another time?" she begged.

"I just had to see you, Laurel." Lance said sadly.

Laurel was instantly worried. "Did something happen?" she asked. "Are you ok?"

"One day, honey, when you have a daughter of your own, you'll understand that being a parent, it means you just never stop worrying about your children." Lance said.

"Dad, I'm-I'm sorry I didn't call you back." She said. "I've-I've had a really long week, and-and I'm tired."

He placed a hand on her arm. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"I don't know." She said after a moment. "I wish that there was- there was something, a ..." she sighed. "A sign that it gets better."

"It does, honey." Lance promised. "It gets better."

"How do you know?" she asked.

Lance enveloped her in a hug. "I wish I could tell you, sweetie." He said after a moment. "I wish I could tell you."

 _ **FLashback**_

 _ **5 Years Ago**_

 _Nathan was dragged to Ivo's quarters, where he was thrown down on the floor. The two pirates left, and Nathan struggled to push himself up. He paused when a pair of boots appeared in front of him. He continued looking up following the legs to the torso, to finally the head-_

 _Of Sara Lance._

 _"How are you—" he started, but was cut off by a sharp kick to his ribs. He collapsed back onto the floor as Sara stood over him, a knife in her hand._

 _"Prisoners do not speak." She said, then turned and walked out, leaving a hurt and confused Nathan behind._

 ** _Flashback End_ **

**Nathan's Loft**

 **Next Morning**

Nathan was in eating breakfast when he saw a tv report about Supergirl over in national city and he instantly knew it was Kara. Seems she took his advice and came out as a superhero.

HE smiled and made a decision. He formed a clone of himself and told him, "Handle all my responsibilities while I'm gone."

Grabbing his stuff, he headed out, intent on making it to National City by nightfall.

 **Chapter End**


	25. Chapter 25 - Stronger Together

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Caitlin Snow, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Dinah Drake, McKenna Hall, Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl**

 **Can't make up my bloody mind: Earth 0 Laurel, Earth 2 Laurel Lance,** **Harley Quinn,** **Earth-0 Natasha Romanova**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Amanda Waller, Eliza Danvers**

 **AN: So, I keep flipping back and forth with both Laurel's. Until we get farther into the season, I'm going to just leave both in the "Can't make up my bloody mind" category. Harley's also there.  
**

 **8/2/18 Update: So After months of racking my brain, I finally figured out how to add Natasha into the story. I almost have chap 26 done, and I will post in 2-3 days.  
**

 **Chapter 25: Stronger Together**

 **The Desert around National City**

 _When people see that red cape, they expect to see a certain someone. Someone they know. But this isn't his story. It's mine._ _It's been a week since I revealed myself to National City. So far, things are going pretty well._

"Is that the fastest you can go?" Hank Henshaw, Head of the DEO, or Department of Extranormal Operations, questions Kara over the comms.

"Are these tests mandatory for everyone or just because I'm a..." Kara questioned, wondering if she was being subjected to this because the director was sexist against women.

"It is not because you're a woman, Miss Danvers", Hank said simply, realizing were she was going with that line of thought "The DEO requires rigorous physical and psychological evaluation for all its prospective field operatives."

"I was gonna say _alien._ " Kara stated.

"A novice superhero could be a liability in a field" Hank stated, since it was the truth. He never sent untrained agents in the field until they were deemed ready. "I need to know you're in full control of your powers. Stamina, strength, speed."

Kara, deciding to show him how in control she was, poured on the speed, breaking through the sound barrier as she passed overhead, creating a sonic boom that caused the glass on a glass drawing board to crack so much that a single touch would shatter the entire thing.

"My sister just broke the sound barrier, sir." Alex, adoptive sister of Kara informed.

"Fire again." Hank ordered to the agents on the missile launcher. They fired 2 more missiles at Supergirl. She flew for a few moments until she performed an airborne maneuver to cause the two missiles to hit each other, causing an explosion.

"So, did I pass?" She asked as she landed.

"I see you share your cousin's appetite for wanton destruction, Miss Danvers." Hank simply stated.

"You know, I am starting to answer to Supergirl." She said as she stopped him from walking away only for him to not say anything, and his lack of facial expression showed how unamused he was. "It's cool, we'll... We'll find our thing." Kara said awkwardly as Hank walked away.

"Is all of this really necessary?" Kara asked Alex. "I'm ready, Alex, for all of it. I can do this."

"Believe it or not, he's just looking out for you," Alex tried to reassure Kara, "You know, we both are. I had a full year of training before he even let me in the field."

Alex sighed and then spoke. "But I'm really glad that you're here, though." She chuckles and says, "I hated keeping this whole part of my life from you."

"And growing up, I always thought you were such a bad liar," Kara teased.

"That's what a good liar makes you think," Alex teased back with a smile.

"Supergirl. Come in, Supergirl." Came Winn's voice over the earpiece in Kara's ear.

"Winn, what is it? I'm kind of busy right now." Kara told him

"Kara, there is a huge fire raging down at the National City port. It's really bad." He admitted.

"All right. I'm on my way." She said.

"Hey, you've been dodging missiles and pushing your endurance for the last two hours. Even you have your limits." Alex tried to caution her sister.

"For the last twelve years I hid who I was. I don't have to anymore. And I don't want to waste a minute of it." Kara said to Alex before she added, "Besides, this sounds like a job for Supergirl."

Suffice to say, it wouldn't go very well.

 **CatCo**

 **Afternoon**

"Miracle or menace? That's what the citizens of National City are asking themselves after the latest attempt at heroics by Supergirl left the bay facing an ecological disaster." the news caster said as Kara walked into her job and her friend Winn appeared

"Oh, God, is that smell you?" Winn asked

"Three showers and I still reek of burning oil. I went from superhero to eco-terrorist in a single bound." Kara groaned.

"Hey, hey. You're just, like, a week into this superhero thing, you're going to make some mistakes. Like, when you first started working here as Ms. Grant's assistant and Cat asked you to get her lunch and you went to Chipotle." Winn said

"Yeah, except now I'm making mistakes in front of the entire world." Kara sighed before she and Winn looked up to the television.

"Forget about Supergirl's lack of experience, I'm talking about the trouble she'll bring to National City. Look at Metropolis. Since Superman's arrival, a veritable super bad guy war has been waged on that city. Their maintenance budgets have quadrupled. National City does not need Metropolis' problems."

Kara frowned which Winn noticed and spoke "Who cares what that guy says?"

"You do. Isn't Maxwell Lord your personal hero?" Kara asked

"I own a couple Maxwell Lord watches and his biography." Winn admitted.

 **10 minutes Later**

"I am not doing that interview. No. I can't... I mean, I can't." Kara said in a panic inside of James Olsen's office. Cat had just revealed that she wanted an interview with Supergirl by the end of the week. And when Cat Grant doesn't get what she wants, people tend to get fired. "Ms. Grant's not stupid. She'd recognize me in, like, one second. "

"She will look at Supergirl right in the face and she will not even see her reporter." James reassured her.

"How can you be so sure?" Kara asked, not believing him.

"Because she doesn't even see you now," James pointed out, "I watched it happen for years with your cousin. Why do you think that people can't recognize him as Clark Kent?"

"Reading glasses and a good slouch?" Kara asked sarcastically.

"No, he's able to hide because the world can't believe that there's really a hero in their midst." James smiled.

"Yeah, and I'm sure there's a good reason why my cousin keeps his job at The Daily Planet instead of flying around as Superman all the time, which would be so much easier." Kara said with a bit of snark.

"Yeah well, one, he's able to pay his rent." James shrugged.

"She's going to keep pressuring you about that interview." Kara said.

"Oh, I can handle Cat Grant." James said, not in arrogance, but confidence.

"I don't know... I don't know. I... I... Maybe I put the "S" on too soon." Kara muttered, her lack of confidence in her own abilities showing.

"Kara, look out the window. Tell me what you see." James said.

"Buildings. Billboards. There's that bar where that guy cards me all the time. He knows how old I am." She said, though it wasn't what James was looking for.

"I see a city full of people who need help. Who need a hero." James said.

"You really think so?" Kara sighs.

"If anyone can fill Superman's boots... It's you." James said.

"Thank you, James. That was a really good pep talk." Kara said as she walked out of his office.

It was at the end of her day, about 4 O'clock, that Kara got a ring on her cellphone. She frowned when the Caller Id said it was an unknown number. Deciding to just answer it, she accepted the call and said, "Hello?"

"Hey, so I hear you're having a bad day, Karebear." Came the voice of someone she both hadn't been expecting and was excited to hear. After all, that was his pet nickname for her back when they were dating in highschool.

"Nate? Is that you?" Kara asked as she gathered her things to head out.

"Yeah it's me Kara. When I heard you had come out as Supergirl, I figured I'd come see you. But I heard on the news your day kinda went south." He said.

"Yeah, sorry. The whole superhero thing hit a bit of a snag today. And now I've got problems at work, so yeah, I'm having a bad day." Kara said as she got in the elevator and told it to go to the lobby.

"Well then," He said as the ding from the elevator let Kara know she had reached the lobby, "It's a good thing I decided to come when I did."

To her surprise and delight, there was Nathan, standing there in the middle of the lobby, his phone to his ear and he had this infectious smile on his face. He was wearing a black JF J. Ferrar Hybrid Coat, worn over a gray long-sleeved shirt that showed off his muscles. On his legs were black Levi's and black Warfield & Grand Court Boots, and a Black belt.

"Cause now I get to cheer you up, Karebear." He said from across the way, not into the phone, as he had shut that off, but she picked it up with her superhuman hearing.

"Nate!" She said with a bright smile as she rushed over to him, not fast enough to be outed as Supergirl, but fast for a human. She wrapped him in a strong hug and he returned the favor lifting her up and spinning her around for a bit. "You're here."

"Indeed, and not a moment too soon, if I do say so myself", Nathan smiled.

"How are you here though? I know Prometheus is still in Starling City, they had a report on the news that you hit someone else last night", Kara asked.

"Such a useful skill, the ability to be in two places at once." Nathan said cryptically, which Kara caught on.

"Right. The clone thing. I totally forgot." Kara said, placed her palm on her forehead.

"So, not to ruin the mood, but we should probably talk about the oil freighter…" He said getting serious for a second.

"Yeah, I guess," Kara said sadly, good mood seemly ruined.

"...But we can talk about that later." Nathan said, good mood and Kara's sunny disposition returning. "Let's go have some fun. You know anywhere that has some good karaoke?"

 **Later that night**

Kara had offered for him stay at her place while he was here, so that's why at 9 pm, they were both in their pajama's, with Nathan wearing nothing but a simple white sleeveless shirt and black pants while Kara was dressed in her DKNY Jersey Capri Pajamas.

They were both drinking some Red's Apple Ale, not that the Kryptonian and Supersoldier could get drunk on such weak alcohol, or in Kara's case, at all.

"You know, I gotta wonder," Nathan said as he took a swig of his ale, "Why did you never go into music? If that Karaoke proved anything, you have the voice of an angel."

"I mean, sure I could have," Kara said as she drank some of her ale, "But that just wasn't me, ya know? I didn't know way back in highschool, but I always wanted to be a reporter."

They were silent for a few moments before Nathan decided he should probably address the issue. "So….about that freighter."

"Look I know that I screwed up-" Kara tried but he stopped her,

"Kara, can I finish please?" He asked, which she let him, "I wasn't gonna harp on you for the whole issue with the freighter. I was merely gonna suggest that you slow down with the hero thing."

"Slow down?" Kara asked

"Us humans have an old saying, ' _You have to learn how to walk before you can run'_. That applies here, you can't go fighting aliens and stopping natural disasters when you don't even have full control of your abilities."

"I have to do something to help."

"And you will. Help the people." He reassured

"How?"

"I don't know. Save a kitten from a tree, help an old lady across the street, save a person from a burning building, stuff like that." Nathan said placing his hands on Kara's shoulders and smiling "Listen, you're cousin didn't start his career as Superman by taking out big guns like Luthor and General Zod. He started small by doing the things similar to what I just mentioned. You are on a planet were men are much more sexist than on your world, I imagine. Humans have a way of judging the female gender more than they do the males, so your every action will be called into question. So like I said, start out small, build your reputation and confidence, and practice your powers."

"Okay, fine," Kara sighed.

"Now, which one do you want to watch?" Nathan said as he pulled out two DVD's. "Twilight or Avengers?" He was teasing her of course. He knew from their talks she hated Twilight and would never watch that.

Kara scoffed and said, "As if I would ever watch Twilight. Give me a superhero movie any day of the week." She said as she took Avengers and stuck it in her DVD player and pressed play while Nathan went and grabbed the popcorn as they sat next to each other and enjoyed the rest of their night.

 **Next Day**

 **Early Morning**

 **DEO**

"It's called a Hellgrammite. Basically a large insect that can camouflage itself into any shape it wants humanoid included." Kara said to Hank, and Alex as a photo of a Hellgrammite showed up on the monitor

"Anything else?" Hank asked one of his agents.

"Not at the moment sir, until we know what all he's been taking it could be that he's just looking for food since his DNA isn't carbon base, but chlorine."

"This job never ceases to surprise me." Han said

"You guys track him down, and I'll take him out, just like we did with Vartox." Kara suggested.

"Sure thing, Miss Danvers. If you can prove to us you can handle yourself without getting killed." Hank said and he nodded to Alex.

"What are we doing in here?" Kara said as Alex led her away to another room in the facility.

"When I joined the DEO, I spent 12 hours a day for five straight months in this room", Alex explained, "We need to know that you're prepared for everything you might face out there."

"Alex, I can bend a steel I-Beam with my bare hands. And last week, I kicked Vartox's butt," Kara tried to explain, "I'm ready enough."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah. I do." Kara said, before a machine whirled to life and green light fill the room. Kara suddenly felt weak.

"How did you do that?"

"Kryptonite radiation emitters. You're only at 18%. Not enough to permanently harm you, but enough to weaken you. Make this a fair fight." Alex explained.

"I just found out last week that Kryptonite exists. Only the DEO knows it can hurt me." Kara said.

"You may have powers, Kara, but so do most of the Fort Rozz aliens. Not only do they have the element of surprise, but they've also had time to master their abilities. We may not always know who our enemies are, so we need to be prepared to face anyone. Now, come at me." Alex beckoned her sister as Alex gave Kara her first lesson in hand to hand combat.

 **Same Time**

 **Café**

Nathan was in a café in downtown, having a coffee while he worked tirelessly on hacking government files. Specifically, Russia's old KGB stuff. Finally, after 30 minutes of nonstop hacking to make sure he didn't make a mistake and get caught, he snuck in and created copy of everything that had to do with Natalie Rushman, or as her file suggests, Natasha Romanova. The Black Widow, the deadliest assassin Russia ever produced and the greatest female assassin the world ever saw. After the KGB collapsed, she continued to operate as a spy for Russia, until she vanished 7 years ago in 2006. The files stopped after that, since she appears to have defected from the Russians. Satisfied, he saved a copy everything on a USB, before taking the computer he had bought yesterday just for this and took it out back to trash behind the café and broke it into a 1000 pieces and dumped them in separate trashcans.

He walked back into the café to finish his meal, when he nearly bumped into somebody he had not seen 9 years.

"Samanatha?", he asked, for in front of him was Samantha Arias, his ex-girlfriend from his senior year in highschool.

"Nate?" Samantha asked. His 28 year old ex was looking good, especially since he hadn't seen her in almost 10 years.

You could literally feel the awkward tension in the air.

"How are you?" He asked, trying to break the ice and lose the awkwardness.

"I've been good. It's been a long time." She said, still feeling the awkwardness and contributing to it in her own way. There was something she didn't want him to know.

"We haven't spoken since we ended things, and I'm sorry about that." He apologized.

"No it's okay." She said, "I heard about what's happening to your mother. I'm sorry for what's happening to her."

"Listen, I'm in town on a business venture, but – do you have a few minutes? I wouldn't mind catching up." He said.

Samantha wanted to refuse but she did have a few minutes, but she was afraid of what would happen if he met Ruby.

"Yeah, I got a few minutes." She said as they both sat down.

They didn't talk long. They briefly touched on what they had been up to the last 10 years, which wasn't much in Nathan's case. He learned that Samantha had gone to college for Business after Highschool and she had moved up the ladder until she had become the CFO of Lexcorp.

"Hey, it's been good talking with you again, Nate, but I gotta go. I still have some documents to go over before Lexcorps eventual move here." Samanatha said as she got up.

"Hey it was good seeing you again." Nate said with a smile.

"You too," Samanatha said as she turned away.

"Mommy, wait for me!" Came an excited voice of a young girl. A sec later, something small hit Nathan's leg and he heard a "Ow."

Nathan turned around to look at his leg to see a young girl, about 9 years old on the ground, rubbing her head.

"Oh Ruby," Samantha said as she knelt down, "You shouldn't run into strangers like that."

"Sorry Mom," Ruby apologized.

"Cute kid, what's her name?" Nate asked as he knelt down to have a closer look at her.

"This is Ruby, and she's my daughter," Sam said.

Nathan looked her over and looked at Samantha, metaphorical gears turning in his head, "She's not…" He asked the open question.

"No, she's not yours." Samantha said. "I met her father about 4 months after we broke up."

"Mister, do you know my mommy?" Ruby asked Nathan.

"Yeah," HE smiled at her, "We're old friends."

"Now look, Ruby," Nathan said he placed a hand on the side of her head as he looked at her, taking note that while she had her mothers hair, her blue eyes were the exact same shade as his. "Your mother loves you very much. You be good to her, alright?"

"I will, thank you, mister!" Ruby said excitedly.

"I'll see you around, Nate," Samantha said as she led her daughter.

Nathan stood up and stared after them, his hand closed as a few of Ruby's hairs stuck out of it, "You too,"

 **Kara's Apartment**

 **Afternoon**

Kara had a large smile on her face as she watched the news "A dazzling display of heroics by the Girl of Steel now has a grateful National City asking themselves, "What Oil Spill? What out Metropolis, looks like we're about to give you a run for your superhero money."

Kara had spent the entire day, saving snakes from trees, an ambulance stuck in traffic, and a spree of robberies, and it was paying off. Turning to her friends Winn, and James she said "I can't believe. It's working. People are really starting to believe in her."

"In you." James said

"I couldn't have done it without either of you." Kara said before her door open causing James, and Winn's eyes to widen as Kara was still in her suit

"Hey Kara hope you got something to eat, cause I am starving." Nathan said closing the door and turning ignoring the two guys and Kara completely as his eyes zeroed in on the Pizza "Pizza. Nice." he said before he grabbed a piece, while discreetly grabbing a plastic bag and putting Ruby's hairs in it, before sealing the bag and eating his slice.

"Uh Nathan. Meet Winn, and James." Kara said causing Nathan to turn and see the two looking at him in shock

"Sup." Nathan said finishing a slice before he saw the tv, "So you followed my advice, and Eliza used to say I would be a bad influence on you."

Kara couldn't help herself as she smiled.

"Uh, Mister Queen, so you're an alien too?" Winn asked. He'd normally be psyched about meeting Nathaniel Queen, but given the situation, he wasn't.

"Oh I don't know. Ask me again after I burn your hair off with my heat vision," Nathan said as he narrowed his eyes, like he was going to do it.

"AH! No, not my hair!" Winn shouted as he hid behind Kara, who was barely resisting the urge to laugh out loud.

"Hahaha!" Nathan and Kara both laughed, confusing Winn.

"I'm kidding, kid. I am completely human." Nate said, much to Winn's relief. "No, I've known for a year now that Kara was Kryptonian. Plus, we go way back."

"How far back?" Winn asked as he popped out behind of Kara.

"Went to the same highschool, were each others first girlfriend/boyfriend. Take your pick." Nathan said as he took another slice of pizza. No one in the room seemed to notice a slightly jealous look that James had. Nate and Kara looked up when Alex walked in and immediately frowned seeing Winn, Nathan, and James "Whoops. I'll give you guys sometime alone." Nathan exited the door and beckoned Winn and James to move along.

"What the hell, Kara!?" Alex asked. Bad enough that Kara's friends know, but now that ex of her's knows as well!? Unnacceptable! "Are you planning to announce who you are to the whole bloody city!?"

"Hey, calm down Alex. Winn and James can be trusted. And as for Nate, he's known for over a year now." Kara explained.

"What?" Alex asked, "when did you have time to tell your ex boyfriend?"

"Okay, you remember when I had that interview with him in Starling City about a year ago?" Alex nodded. "Well, during that time, there was this thief running around that was stealing priceless artifacts. Long story short, I ended up getting a bomb collar strapped to my neck and I was forced to reveal myself to him."

"Oh Kara, I didn't know." Alex apologized.

"Hey, look he was cool with it. The fact is, he kinda suspected it from the moment we first started dating, like when I broke his nose during our first kiss." Kara said as both she and Alex shared a laugh.

"Do you really think it was a good idea to tell your other friends who you are?" Alex asked Kara who grabbed a cup of coffee.

"Yes, because they're my friends." Kara said turning to her "I'm allowed to have friends, aren't i?"

"Yes, it's just I want you to be careful with who you trust." Alex said

"I trust Winn and Nate, and Clark trusts James which is good enough for me." Kara said sitting down "They believe in me Alex, but...I need your faith, Alex. More than that "S," more than that cape. More than anyones."

"I do believe in you. I always have and I always will." Alex said causing Kara to smile before Alex' phone rung "Danvers...I'll be right there. They need me back at the DEO. I'll call you."

Alex left after giving a hug to Kara.

 **Midday**

 **Desert**

Nathan was leaning against his black Ford F150 he got from one of his storage units he kept in National City and waiting for Kara, his bow and arrows laying close by.

Hearing a whooshing sound he turned to see Kara land on the ground, "Your late."

"Sorry, I was busy saving people from a burning building." Kara apologized.

"It's fine, I'm not gonna criticize you for doing your job. Just understand that when we are training, I prefer promptness." Nathan said, causing Kara to nod.

"So what exactly are you planning to teach me?" Kara asked.

"Some lessons I wish I didn't have to learn the hard way." Nathan said solemnly, thinking a about Slade when he got hit with a mortar and when he missed Kovar's damn Red Death syringe.

"What lessons?" Kara wondered.

"So I hacked and reviewed the file the DEO has on your fight with umm—What was his name? Vartox?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah that's his actual name. He was tough for my first fight, but I managed to beat him." Kara smiled.

"What you did was almost get yourself killed." Nathan stated, causing Kara to frown, "Kara, you went up against someone with a weapon that could have easily killed you. That Axe of his literally negated your greatest advantage; your invulnerability to physical harm."

"I know that but I was able to use my heat vision to superheat the thing to a level that it couldn't handle and it exploded." Kara protested.

"Kara, you should have destroyed the axe first when you knocked him out of his truck, not while he was trying to split your skull in half. You could have also grabbed it and thrown it into the sea and came right back to finish Vartox off." Nathan said as he walked away some and she followed.

"There is a difference Kara, between just having powers, and having the precision and discipline to use them effectively. You're just starting out, going up against guys who have been doing this longer than you, are decent fighters, and have had time to master their abilities. You need every advantage you can get."

"Let me try to put this in perspective for you. Why do you think I was able to stop the Undertaking before it began and evade the police all this time?" He said as he turned around and looked at her.

Kara just shrugged, not really knowing the answer.

"Because I was smarter than my opponents. I outsmarted them at every turn, made them dance to my tune, per say. I put the battle on my terms, because I play smarter than my opponents. Guys like Vartox and other Kryptonians are not problems you can just outmuscle. You need to be better than them. That doesn't mean just coming up with creative ways to beat them. That also means becoming skilled in hand to hand, mastering your powers, and adopting good habits when approaching a hostile situation."

"Now I want you to fly over there. Fly back at me and try to catch this arrow." Nathan said as Kara nodded and she flew back about 30 meters.

"Are you sure? It's not like the arrow can hurt me." Kara called back.

"Just Humor me." Nathan said as he drew his arrow.

"Ready?!" Kara shouted as Nathan nocked his arrow.

"Ready." Nathan replied as Kara flew straight at him and caught the arrow that Nathan shot. But then, she felt something prick her back.

"Ow!" Kara shouted as she dropped the arrow. Nathan walked over to Kara and pulled the out what appeared to be a couple darts with Kryptonite tips. "ARGH! You said to catch your arrow."

"I did but I also said there's a difference between powers and precision. Let this be a lesson for you. Always be aware of what's around you. Learn to case your environment before you rush in." Nathan said as he placed the darts in a lead cylinder and Kara nodded and hissed as her back sting.

"Where did you even get Kryptonite?" she asked.

"8 months ago, after Superman put Lex away, I found his entire stash of Kryptonite and stole it." Nathan said.

Nathan Put his bow down, and without warning, wrapped Kara in a hug, which she hesitantly returned since he did just shoot her. Nathan gently rubbed her back where he stuck her with Kryptonite darts. "I'm sorry I shot you." He apologized and he whispered in her ear, "It's just, I had to learn these lessons the hard way and I either nearly died or people that I loved died."

"You know what my life was like during those five years. I've lost good friends, lovers, mentors, I was betrayed, and would have lost myself in despair without help. I don't want to lose anyone else that I love. If I did, I don't know what I'd do." Nathan said.

"It's okay." Kara whispered rubbing his back. "I get it now. I do. Just…please no more shooting me with Kryptonite." She pleaded.

"I promise. Unless of course, you ask me to or go on a murderous rampage," He teased and she chuckled a bit, "But otherwise, all training with me will be Kryptonite free."

"Now," Nathan said as he pulled out a clay pigeon shooter from his truck. "Let's have some fun while we work on your accuracy. Heat Vision only."

He fired one and Kara used her heat vision to make it explode. They did that for a nearly an entire hour, while they did various other things like trying to help her use her freeze breath.

 **DEO**

 **1 One Hour Later**

"What's the news on the Hellgrammite?" Alex asked as scientist around the base worked

"We've confirmed six similar attacks on chemical plants across the country over the past year." Hank said turning to her as she looked at the highlighted plants on the monitor

"Each of those facilities stored confiscated DDT, which is a chlorine pesticide, and given his home planet's atmospheric conditions, DDT would be the closest thing on Earth he could find to food." Alex said

"Since DDT was banned, the government has been destroying remaining stockpiles. His food source is shrinking. Well, if this thing is hungry, let's buy him some dinner." Hank said

 **Next Night**

Speak of the devil, Kara was calling, picking up his phone Nathan answered "Kara, hey." Nathan greeted

"Nathan. The Hellgrammite took Alex. They're at a warehouse at the corner of 78th and Washington. I'm going to get her back."

"I'm on my way." Nathan frowned before he quickly pulled out his spare suit, the suit he one day intended to wear after he was done with his Prometheus persona.

 **With Kara**

Kara after hanging up, took a sec to case her environment, trying to adopt those good habits that Nathan had talked out. She used her X-Ray to try to see the entire building. She only found one person, and she knew Alex anywhere. She dropped to the ground and walked into the warehouse and immediately saw Alex with an injured leg on the ground "Alex." Kara said about to rush to her sister.

"No! Get out of here, it's a trap." Alex yelled causing Kara to pause as she turned around only for Astra to appear and punch her.

"It's been a long time, little one. Look how you've grown. So beautiful." Astra said as Kara got up and looked at her in shock.

"But you...You died. When Krypton exploded...Everyone died. You died... Aunt Astra." Kara stammered as she walked out of the small crater she caused when she fell.

"Except I wasn't on Krypton when it perished. I was a prisoner aboard Fort Rozz." Astra said walking forward "Did your mother not tell you? How she sent me away? Banished her own blood? Imprisoned me for speaking the truth while she told only lies?"

"But why did she send you to Fort Rozz?" Kara asked

"For being a hero. For trying to save our world." Astra said standing face to face with Kara who looked at her teary eyed.

"I remember so many nights, sitting on your lap, listening as you taught me all the name of the stars." Kara reminisced.

"Then let me educate you once again, dear niece. Your alliance with the humans is misplaced. Do not stand against me. I let one planet die, I will not do so again." Asters warned.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing." Kara frowned causing Astra to smirk before she backhanded Kara sending her flying through a wall. Standing up, Kara and Astra immediately fired their own heat vision rays at each other.

Alex crawled over to her walkie but before she could reach it she was picked up by the Hellgrammite and tossed into the fence before he picked her up and held up a hand as a stinger emerged "It's not personal. Just every species has the will to survive."

"You know what else every species has." Alex asked before she kicked the Hellgrammite in the nuts stunning him before she grabbed his arm and spun under it before she thrust the stinger into his chest, killing him. "Those."

Kara, and Astra had began to fight with Kara landing a few good blows but her Aunt was obviously the better fighter, as she was pushed back in mid air Astra rushed Kara and slammed her into the ground with her forearm at her nieces throat.

"You choose for it to end like this, instead of allying with your family. Now you can die alone." Astra said standing up and wrapping Kara's cape around her "You might wanna rethink the cape."

Astra using the cape tossed Kara toward the window, but at that moment, Nathan appeared. He dropped down from the rafters and caught the thrown Kryptonian before she flew out of the building.

"And who are you supposed to be?" Astra asked as she slowly began to make her way over to her niece.

" **A friend of your niece,"** said Nathan in this Black Arrow costume( **Think Earth-X Oliver's costume, just without the Nazi Symbols)** , " **That's all you need to know."**

Nathan pulled out one of his special arrows at aimed it Astra's heart. "And what do you think that little toy of yours will do? You do realize on this planet, Kryptonian's are invulnerable to harm." Astra said, completely assured of her invulnerability.

" **Care to take that bet?"** Nathan asked, causing Astra to open her stance and gesture him to bring it.

Smirking underneath his nanotech mask, he let the arrow fly at the Kryptonian. About half way to it's target, the lead covering on the arrow broken away, revealing a smooth bright green arrowhead. Astra, in shock, moved away, just enough that instead of hitting her in the heart, it would hit her in the left shoulder. It was then that pain shot through her shoulder as she grit her teeth in pain.

Astra pulled out the green arrow to see it's tip covered in blood. Her blood. ' _What is this material? Kryptonians can't be harmed under a yellow sun.'_

She threw the arrow at his face, though Nate moved out of the way, letting the arrow pierce the steel wall. Using her superspeed, Astra was upon him, throwing several punches at the Nathan, though he managed to dodge each one. But he got himself into a bind as an double-handed overhead smash came down on his head. Astra smashed into the cement, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Nathan skidded away from the cloud, unharmed, though his bow had been broken in half. _'Note to self, make the next bow frame out of Graphene.'_ He thought.

" **I don't need the bow anyway."** He said tossing it aside.

Astra appeared next to him throwing a haymaker to take his head off, though he ducked and jabbed her in the stomach, his strength and the fact she actually felt the blow surprising her. She swung at him again only for him to redirect the blow and punch her in the ribs twice. Astra tried to kick him with two roundhouse kicks, both of which missed and then tried to head butt him, but Nathan socked her hard in the face, causing her to fly back 30 feet.

Nathan looked at his shaking hands. He was pretty sure that if he had X-Ray vision, he'd be able to see the stress fractures all over his hands. Growling Astra fired beams of heat vision at him. Nathan moved toward her hopping and weaving around her attacks as he maneuvered closer to her. Once he did, he punched her so hard she flew upwards and into the rafters, bending them around the shape of her body.

" **Fuck!"** Nathan ground out as he held his now broken wrist, which broke from the impact on his punch. He moved his arm some and watched as his hand flopped around aimlessly. **"That's not good."**

"No, I imagine it's not." Astra said behind him. Prompting Nathan to perform a spinning roundhouse kick, though as his foot met Astra's face, she was sent flying again and he broke his ankle, falling to the ground in pain.

Astra flew at him and Nathan pushed down the pain and quickly reset his wrist. He jumped up and performed an overhead kick with his bad leg, which Astra blocked and grabbed his ankle. He made to punch her with his left hand, which was blocked by her other hand. Nathan attempted to kick her with his other leg, but this was blocked.

Nathan smirked beneath his mask and pulled out another lead cased arrow, which broke away and revealed another Kryptonite arrow. ' _He has another one!?'_ Astra shouted in her head. He stabbed towards her eye, but she moved her head to move of the way, causing to the Kryptonite arrow to slice through her cheek.

As he pulled the arrow back stab again, Astra let go of his limbs and used her Super Breath to send him flying through two walls. His body crashed into the ground, breaking it apart. Nathan reset his ankle as it healed. He made to get up, only to be pinned down Astra who was holding both of the Kryptonite Arrows in her hands.

"You fought valiantly and with honor," Astra acknowledged, "Now die." She plunged both arrows into Nathan's heart, causing him to seemingly die.

Astra made to tear off the mask but she was then attacked by Supergirl, her assault on her aunt renewed by the _death_ of her ex-boyfriend/ really great friend.

All the while, Nate was thinking, _'I fucking hate using magic.'_ A black miasma covered his body as he stood up.

Kara had just thrown Astra across the room, after remembering her lesson from Alex. Kara looked behind her as she saw Alex staggering toward her. "Hey," She said, as she was still injured from the stinger that had been in her leg.

Kara hugged her sister and asked, "Are you okay?" They were interrupted when they were knocked off their feet by a gust of wind from Astra.

"I saw on the news you haven't quite mastered that one yet." Astra spoke.

Astra would have said more or done more but at that exact moment, a mass of black ethereal gas slammed into her, knocking her to the ground, creating a crater. Kara and Alex turned to see Black Arrow with his hand outstretched shooting the black ethereal gas from his hands, both Kryptonite Arrows still in his chest.

"Thank God," Kara whispered.

Astra grit her teeth as she held her now broken arm. It was as if the attack had somehow bypassed her invulnerability. She got up and looked at her attacker to find the same man she had stabbed in the heart still standing with two arrows in his heart. ' _What is he?'_

Astra rushed him with a wide arc kick trying to take his head off. He ducked and she followed up with a downward punch with her one good arm. Nathan side stepped Astra and socked her in the jaw, though this time, his hand was covered in dark shadows, bypassing her invulnerability, letting her feel the full brunt of his attack. He punched her in the gut several more times, each blowing delivering her pain she had not felt in a long time. He then kicked her legs out of from under her, then pulled one of the arrows out of his chest and stabbed in through her stomach, causing her to scream in pain.

" **That was for stabbing me in the heart."** He growled.

He pulled the other arrow out and made to stab her through the heart but paused as he looked up when DEO agents entered and it cost him as Astra gave a full strength uppercut to send Nathan flying through the ceiling before she flew out, making her escape.

Nathan was falling through the sky but Kara managed to catch him before he hit the pavement. "Well, this is embarrassing."He said.

Kara set him down on his feet. They stared at each other before she wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. "I'm glad you're not dead."

"Me too, Karebear" He said. Kara pulled away and noticed something. "Nate, your mask…", She said.

Nathan touched his hand to his face, not feeling his mask there. The blow Astra gave him must have destroyed his mask. And now Alex and Hank has seen his face.

"Shit, I gotta run. I'll meet up with you later." Nathan said as he jumped up into the rafters and out the hole Astra made.

"Miss Danvers," Hank said, with a look that said he was definitely not amused, "I believe you have some explaining to do."

Kara groaned while she figured out how she was gonna explain this.

 **Later**

"Director Henshaw, thank you for helping me set up that room." Alex thanked Hank as she just came back from showing Kara her mother's AI.

"It's the least I can do for Supergirl." Hank said, with Alex noticing the fact he called Kara by her superhero name.

"I won't tell her you called her that." She teased and his lips formed something of a smile.

"I'd appreciate it." Hank said.

All of a sudden, the lights went out for a brief moment. They turned back on, only to find everyone except Alex and Hank unconscious.

"Hank, what just happened?" Alex asked.

" **I happened"** came the voice of Black Arrow. Pulling out her gun and whirling around, she pointed it at him, as he was wearing his repaired mask.

"What do you want, Mr. Queen?" Hank calmly asked.

" **To talk,"** he looked at Alex and said as he pulled his hood back and his mask receded, "And for fucks sake, put your gun down, Alex. We're old friends, aren't we?"

"What did you do to my men?" Hank asked as Alex reluctantly holstered her gun.

"Nothing harmful, just a little something to keep them asleep. They'll wake up when I leave."

Nathan leaned on a table and crossed his arms. "I just wanted to talk with you, about keeping my identity a secret. Suffice to say, you two seeing my face was not part of the plan. I just want to make sure you two weren't planning on revealing my identity".

"And why we do that? Aside from the fact you are the Arrow and Prometheus." Hank said, causing Alex to look at him in shock.

"hmm," He hummed as he examined Henshaw with a critical eye, "You're more than you appear to be, Mr. Henshaw. But anyways, if you need a reason, then here's one." Nathan merely threw a card at Hank, who caught it, and both he and Alex looked at it.

It was an ARGUS Shadow Operative badge.

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" Alex asked in disbelief.

"It's no joke Alex. Amanda Waller's Shadow Operative program is a very real thing." Hank said, causing her to look at him. "Waller's a shrewd and pretty immoral woman. Technically, Shadow Operative's are not employed by ARGUS, no money changes hands and no reports need to be filed. This allows them to slip into the underworld of a city far better. The rules of conduct state that as long as the Operative is acting in accordance with their mission, any and all illegal activity is deemed legal, up to and including murder." He explained.

"Instead of releasing me from ARGUS employ, Waller classified me as this, which is why I still have to do odd jobs for her here and there, like capturing someone she wants for her Task Force X." Nathan explained.

Hank continued reading, "Mission is as follows: the death of Constantine Kovar in Russia, dealing with corruption in Starling City according to the Tempest notebook recovered from Robert Queen's corpse and most recently the general defense of Starling city from 2013 until the present day. As such, any of his actions as a member of the Bratva, the Triad, the Arrow, Prometheus and Black Arrow are all authorized and legal."

"Which basically means for you, that attempting to reveal my identity is tantamount to committing high treason." Nathan said as he took the card back.

"I'm guessing you don't trust us then." Alex said.

"I don't know you as well as I know Kara, Alex. And I don't know Henshaw here at all. I had to be sure you didn't harbor any foolish thought of exposing me, since it would be mutually assured destruction for the both of us." Nathan said as the he stepped back. "It's nothing personal." He said, his voice echoing through the room as the light's flickered back of and then back on and everyone started to wake up.

 **Kryptonian base**

 **A little bit later**

Astra was a on a medical table as the doctor pulled out the arrow and set her arm in cast while it healed. "Kryptonians are nearly indestructible on Earth. How could that arrow hurt me?" Astra demanded.

"Unclear. I've never seen anything like it." The doctor said, ignoring her groaning.

"It's definitely not from this planet.", He put it on the table and the computer brought up a screen. "It seems to be emitting a specific radioactivity that's damaging to the Kryptonian cellular structure."

"It's still making me sick. Get it away from me." Astra demanded and when he didn't, he said it more forcefully. "Get it out of here."

" The humans are more canny than we predicted." Came Non's voice from the shadows.

"Until we learn to neutralize this weapon they possess, we might have to rethink our timetable for taking National City." Astra said.

"And what of Kara Zor El?" Non asked his wife/ commander.

"My niece, she is stronger than I thought. She's not just a little girl from Krypton anymore." Astra said in recognition while she was determined to find out more about whoever it was that tried to kill her earlier.

 **Outside Kara's apartment**

Nathan was getting on his bike and getting ready to leave. Kara was seeing him off.

"Are you sure you have to leave, Nate?" Kara asked.

"Yeah, I've been away long enough. The others have probably noticed the real me's absence."

"But hey, if you ever need help, don't hesitate to call me….Even though against a Kryptonian, I am very outmatched." Nathan said.

Kara gave a him a big hug. "I promise, I will. And hey, are you planning to stay as Black Arrow?"

"Not yet, Prometheus still has a job to do. A job that persona is uniquely qualified for.  
 **Back in Star City**

 **One day later**

Nathan stopped by the post office to deliver a package to the person at the mailing office, "I need this sent right away."

"We'll get right on it, Mr. Queen." The desk lady said.

Nathan pulled out his phone and dialed a number. A few seconds later, the person he was calling picked up. "This is Allen." Came the voice.

"Hey Barry, it's me. I need a favor."

 **Chapter Finished**

 **AN: So just an announcement, since Supergirl and Arrow universes are the same, their will be at least several crossover episodes between Arrow and the other shows in each season.**

 **Next Time: What Happens in Russia…You know how it goes**


	26. Chapter 26 - What Happens in Russia

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth 0 Laurel (Eventually), Earth 2 Laurel Lance(Eventually)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Loise Lincoln aka Killer Frost, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Dinah Drake, McKenna Hall, Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl, Harley Quinn,**

 **Can't make up my bloody mind:**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Amanda Waller, Eliza Danvers, Caitlin Snow, Isabel Rochev**

 **E0 and E2 Laurel will be happening but not in the way that you think. Harley Quinn is back on the possibility list.**

 **Isabel is not happening. Can't have the harem getting too big.**

 **I apologize for taking so long but I really had trouble figuring out how to add Natasha to the Story but I think I got it.**

 **Black Arrow 26**

 **Queen Consolidated**

Nathan was in his office, finishing up the final draft for his new book ' _Makeout Tactics'._ His first 3 books were still on the New York Times Best Seller List for nearly a year now, which was good for him. Bringing in that extra dough for a rainy day. And then there were his other investments.

He sat back in his chair and thought hard about something and pulled up a PDF file. It was collection of pages containing a list of names. It was his mother's copy of the List. He had initially thought he had crossed Isabel off on his suspect list, but apparently not. Isabel's name was only on his mother's List, so he had to wonder something. Was it just because Isabel was his father's mistress at one point or was it something else? In Nathan's experience, nobody made the list without doing something awful. Still, he knew next to nothing for her reasons for being on the List.

' _Speaking of which,'_ he thought, _'it's time to bring my quirky hacker and secret spy into the fold.'_

 **Warehouse district**

 **That Night**

Several SUV's were pulling up and disgorging their occupants as Roy watched from a short distance away. He had his red hood up and was looking at the criminals as they milled about with a pair of high-powered binoculars.

 **"I got your message."** Prometheus told him as he came up behind him, **"You should be more careful, kid. You're completely exposed here."**

"I knew you were there." Roy lied, startled. Prometheus looked at him funny.

"What, you wanted me to tell you when the funny money guys were ready to make a sale? Here we go." He said.

 **"Not 'we'."** Nathan told him. **"Go home, kid. I already have a partner."**

Roy turned to argue, but the vigilante had already moved off. Delsin Rowe was who was being hunted tonight. He worked for the Federal Reserve and got really rich because he illegally sold perfect copies of the plates used to make dollar bills, including how to get the watermark perfect. He sold these plates to gangs and criminals. For this reason, he was on the List.

Inside the warehouse, the buy was already taking place. "Here's the fake." Rowe said, gesturing to his associate. The man held up a briefcase and opened it, showing off the pair of $50 plates. "Let's see the real." Rowe said. The buyer's associate dropped a large duffle bag and opened it, revealing stacks of $100 bills, roughly $10 million all in all. Delsin Rowe nodded in satisfaction, and the other man lifted the bag to hand it over-

Only for it to be struck in the hand with a crossbow bolt. The criminal dropped the bag and he was felled by a crossbow bolt to the head.

Nathan walked out from his cover, contemptuously slicing the neck of one guard open with his chokuto before throwing a ninja star into the head of another, causing his corpse to fall back against the pallets. One of the Rowe's men ran out of the warehouse, only to be tackled by Roy who began pummeling him.

Back in the warehouse Nathan drew an arrow on Delsin Rowe, who smirked back at him confidently.

 _'You got two right above you._ ' Lyla said over the radio. Prometheus pivoted around and fired up at the catwalks above him once, then twice. One man fell down and crashed into another stack of pallets with an arrow in his chest. The other was dropped by an arrow through his larynx.

There was a guard right behind him but he was felled with a crossbow bolt to the chest. He then turned back to the Delsin Rowe, who now looked at him fearfully.

" **Delsin Rowe, You have failed this city."** The man screamed in terror which was ended when he put an arrow through his face.

Outside the warehouse, several patrol cars pulled up. McKenna got out of her car and drew her weapon, though she sighed when she saw Roy Harper pummeling another man.

"Stay where you are, don't move!" McKenna ordered.

Roy immediately stopped and moved back, putting his hands behind his head. "I want to make a citizen's arrest." He said as he was cuffed.

"Don't move." Mckenna ordered again.

 **Back at Nathan's Loft**

"Well ladies," Nathan said as he, Helena, and Lyla walked into his loft dressed in civilian clothes. "Another night, another gang off the streets permanently, another name crossed off the List."

He placed the duffel bag containing 10 million dollars near his couch, having already inspected it to make sure of no booby traps.

"What are you gonna do with the money?" Helena asked.

"Probably donate half to charity, and keep the rest for my rainy day fund." Nate said, referring to the funds he kept safely hidden away for the day that may come if he loses QC.

He took off his coat and wrapped his arms around both Lyla's and Helena's shoulder. "Now, what do you two say we enjoy the rest of our night?" Lyla and Helena certainly were not going to complain, but before he could begin rocking both of his girlfriends worlds,his phone rang.

"I swear to God, if that's Isobel, that's phone is getting broken." He grumbled as he looked at who it was and answered, "This had better be important, Waller. I was in the middle of something."

"Oh, I can assure you, it's important. Put the phone on speaker, would you. I would prefer if I only had to explain this to you and Agent Michaels once."

Nathan did so and all three gathered around the phone.

"Agent Diggle has gone dark."

Lyla paused at that. "John's missing? What happened?" she asked.

"He was running down several lead's in Moscow for me." Waller explained. "He's missed four of his scheduled call-ins."

"So, what do you want us to do about it?" Nathan demanded.

"Even if we knew where in Russia Mr. Diggle is, my superiors believe sending in an extraction team could cause an international incident. As far as they're concerned, he's already a framed picture on our lobby wall."

Lyla cautiously asked. "Why are you telling us all this?"

"Because I know your passport's are both up to date." She continued.

"It would help to start with what Mr. Diggle was doing in Moscow in the first place." Nathan said after a second's contemplation. "What were these leads he was tracking down?"

"A line on the whereabouts of Eric Needham and Digger Harkness."

"Black Spider and Captain Boomerang." Nathan sighed, aware of their aliases in the criminal underworld. "You were trying to find more members for Task Force X" He said wearily.

"Agent Diggle is an asset that is not easily replaced. If he is dead, I'm going to have to call Agent Michaels back from time to time. And I know, Nathaniel, how you prefer Lyla by your side." Waller told him, implying that she knew about the true depth of their relationship. "Bring him home, Agent Michaels, Mr. Queen" Waller ordered before shutting off the phone.

 **SCPD Station**

 **Same Time**

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you like being arrested." McKenna said.

"I was working for…him." Roy said softly.

"Him who?" McKenna asked,

"The guy who helped you solve Merlyn's case." Roy replied. "I'm on his team." He said, looking the cop in the eyes. "You are, too."

McKenna stared back, considering…

"Anybody else having serious deja vu?" Thea said as she stormed into the precinct. She came to a stop next to McKenna, her arms crossed and an angry look on her face as she considered her boyfriend.

McKenna made a decision. "That's all right, we're letting him go." She said, moving behind Roy to uncuff him- to both Roy's and Thea's surprise. "Our mistake. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time." She explained, covering for Roy.

"Ok, uh, let's just get out of here before anyone changes their mind." Thea said, leading Roy out of the precinct, the wind totally taken out of her sails. As they left, Roy shared one last look with the cop before heading out.

 **Same time**

Skye was meeting up with her boss, who had requested a meeting with her at Verdant. It almost sounded like a date.

"So AC, why did you want to meet me here?" Skye asked.

"AC?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah, cause your cool." Nathan gives her an amused look, "Yeah I know, not my best nickname."

"Nah, it's fine." Nathan said as he got up from his seat. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

He brought Skye down to the door to the basement.

He then walks down the stairs after turning on the lights and places his hand on the wall, the walls parting for his secret. "Whoa, what is up with that?" Skye asked.

"If you want to know, there just one more set of stairs." Nathan said and Skye followed after a few moments of deliberation.

Nathan walked over to the light switch as Skye came down. "You've proven yourself on several occasions. I figure it was time to bring you into the fold." Nathan flipped the disconnect for the lights on, and his lair lit up, illuminating everything. Including his outfits.

"Your him. Prometheus." Skye said in shock as she gazed upon her boss in a new light.

"I am." Nathan said. "Like I said when we first met, I haven't had a lot of luck in recruiting a hacker and tech-support member for my team. The last one I was interested in was too dangerous to bring in. But, you are the right one. You have the skill, and you see the world for more what it really is."

It was at that point that Helena, Lyla, and Chien entered. As they introduced themselves to Skye, Nathan had only one thing to say, "Welcome to the team."

 **The Lair**

 **1 hour later**

Skye and Nathan were watching coverage of demonstrations over the STAR Labs particle accelerator.

 _'The potentially catastrophic risk of turning on this machine far outweigh any scientific gain that might come from it.'_ A protester was saying to the news reporter. _'The people need to understand just how dangerous technology like this is. And the very real possibility of a cataclysmic event.'_

Nathan looked up as Lyla walked briskly into the lair. "So, getting everything ready?" he asked.

"Yeah." Lyla said, gathering some equipment. "Just need book it at the office."

"Wait, AC what's going on?" Skye asked.

"Gotta to save someone in Russia." Nathan said.

"Who?"

Lyla stopped what she was doing and sighed. "John Diggle." She said finally.

"Who?" Skye asked.

"It's her ex-husband that now works for A.R.G.U.S." Nathan informed Skye.

"He was in Russia looking into some potential recruit's for an off-the-books black ops team that is run by ARGUS." Lyla explained. "He's missed four of his scheduled check-ins."

"Not to be crude or anything, but wouldn't that mean he's already…you know." Skye offered.

"I thought the same thing. But the person who runs Argus knows my secret identity. And I technically still work for her, so I have to do odd jobs for her, otherwise she could make my life difficult." Nathan said.

Nathan looked to Helena, who was off to the side. "Babe, I think it's time we visited our Queen Consolidated subsidiary in Moscow." He said.

"Awesome, I've always wanted to visit Moscow." Helena agreed.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _ **Five years ago**_

 _Once again, Nathan found himself staring up at the face of his best friend._

 _"Sara…" he whispered as she looked back at him. Suddenly a door opened, and Sara moved back, allowing Ivo to walk past her._

 _"My name's Ivo." He said in greetings. "What's your name?"_

 _Nathan looked past Ivo at Sara, who subtly shook her head. "Robert." He said after a moment's hesitation._

 _"So. How did you come to be on this island, Robert?" Ivo asked. "I assume it wasn't by choice."_

 _"My, uh boat was shipwrecked here." Nathan said haltingly, still looking at Sara. "And I was the only survivor."_

 _"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." Ivo said, picking a notebook up from his desk. "Did you explore the island much?"_

 _"Some of it." Nathan admitted. "Why?"_

 _"You didn't happen to run across a Japanese Imperial Navy submarine, did you?" Ivo asked, looking at Nathan._

 _At his nonplussed expression, Ivo decided to elaborate. "During World War II, every country was trying to develop the ultimate weapon." He began. "The United States had the Manhattan Project and Captain America, of course; the Nazis had das Uranverein, and Hydra and Red Skull before they defected. And the Japanese, well, they had Mirakuru."_

 _"Stem cell and genetic therapies, decades ahead of their time." Sara explained._

 _"Every war advances the cause of science." Ivo continued. "And like Dr. Eskrine, the Japanese had developed a serum that caused increased strength. Rapid cell regeneration. They called it Mirakuru."_

 _"Miracle." Sara translated._

 _"The Japanese saw how Steve Rogers aka Captain America led the SIS and decimated Hydra. They wanted their own army of super soldiers." Ivo noted wryly. "They were transporting their only supply via submarine when that sub came under heavy fire by the allied forces. And it ran aground in this chain of islands. Both the serum and the scientists who developed it, lost to sands of time." Ivo stood and walked over to Nathan. "Thanks to you… we now know it's this island."_

 _Nathan glared up at the scientist. "You murdered my friends." He hissed._

 _"Which means it's up to you," Ivo countered benignly, "To help us find that sub."_

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Starling International airport**

Nathan, Skye, and Lyla arrived at Starling International the next morning. Lyla pulled the Bentley into the hangar as a jet that was **NOT** the Queen Consolidated Private jet sat on the tarmac, its pilots already doing their preflight check. Lyla and Nathan grabbed their bags and the four walked over to the hangar.

"We aren't taking the QC's Private Jet?" Lyla asked.

Nathan answered, "We can't exactly take the private jet since my clone is covering for me with Isabel. Besides," Nathan said as the they got a better view of the plane, "My personal one is way better."

 **(AN: It's the 'Bus' from Agent's of Shield)**

Lyla looked around and said, "Nate, is this a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III?"

"A modified version, but yes." Nathan answered as they set their bags.

"How did you get one? These things cost 218 Million dollars. Per Unit." Lyla said.

"It was a birthday gift from my dad." Nathan said sadly, in remembrance of his father.

Several hours later, Nathan had his passport stamped at Sheremetyevo International Airport. He took it back and pulled out his phone, quickly setting up the meeting with Knyazev.

"Everything with Knyazev is set." He told Lyla several minutes later.

"You have friends in the Russian mafia?" Daisy asked. "Color me surprised. Who do you know?"

"The Pahkan or Godfather. Anyway, you're going straight to the hotel in a cab." He told her.

Daisy balked. "Your sending me to the hotel?"

"Lyla, Helena and I are going to be meeting with the leader of a criminal enterprise that's been around for generations. One of us is a government agent and the other 2 are well-versed in the niceties and politics of the criminal underworld. You are still fresh and inexperienced in such things. You just joined up and I'm not about to throw you into the deep end when you're still learning how to swim, per say. So, we are going to get a drink and you will take our stuff to the hotel and sit tight until we get back." He said, and the three walked off, leaving Daisy standing there alone.

"Well, damn. Talk about laying down the law." She muttered, and then headed off to get a cab.

 **Queen Consolidated**

 **Nathan's Office**

It was late at night and Nathan's clone was finishing some paperwork. It was at that moment that Natalie walked in, dressed in a sexy secretary outfit.

"You wanted to see me, boss?" Natalie asked.

"I did, yes." Nathan smiled. "Please, have a seat." Natalie took a seat, crossing her left leg over her right.

"Can I get you anything? Water, wine, vodka, if that's your thing?" The clone asked.

"I don't drink during work, sir," Natalie said, wondering why he was offering vodka specifically.

"Please, I insist." Nathan said, as he offered a shot of Russian Vodka. Deciding to just go with it, Natalie took the shot glass in her hand.

They clinked their glasses together as they both took a drink. Nathan did not miss the way Natalie subtly flinched at the drink.

"Now, you been my secretary for a while. I'd like to get to you know you better. Please, tell me about yourself." Nathan asked.

"There isn't much to tell, I'm afraid. I'm an orphan New York City. Born with nothing, I had high ambitions, so I desired a great deal. I traveled the world for a while after I received my bachelors, and then I started working as a secretary in various companies before starting here." She said.

"And that shoot out that occurred in my board room some months back. I have to ask, where you frightened? Scared even?" Nathan asked.

"I Imagine anybody would be scared if some suddenly burst in the room, pointing a fully automatic gun at you, sir," Natalie lied convincingly.

That was when the clone started to chuckle to himself. "I admit, you're good. You're really good. Probably the best. There were practically no flaws in your performance."

"What do you mean, boss?" Natalie asked.

"That I know you're not really from New York City, although I will admit, you pull off a great accent. You did study secretarial arts but that's not all you studied." Nathan said a he stood up and leaned over his desk, "And I know that your real name is Natasha Romanova, not Natalie Rushman. So, care to tell me the truth, Black Widow?"

Immediately Natasha struck out, punching Nathan in the face and slammed his head into his desk, before pulling the heels off her High-heels and stabbing them through his hands, before running for the elevator.

"Okay, maybe confronting her like this was not my best plan." Nathan's clone said as he pulled himself up and pulled the heels out of his hands.

The clone made it down the elevator just in time to see Natasha drive away in a car. Thinking quickly, he pulled out a shuriken and threw it at the car. It missed, scraping the bumper some.

Nathan's clone didn't pursue further, stopping and pulling up his phone to see a red blip moving on a map, indicating he had hit the car with some tracer nanites. "It should be enough."

 **Same Time**

 **Verdant**

Inside, Thea was going over paperwork while the employees got set up for the night. She looked up in surprise to see Jean Loring walking in.

"Ms. Loring." She said with a smile, rising and giving the lawyer a hug. "Didn't take you for the club-hopping type."

"Well, I'm here on business." She said soberly.

"Is everything ok with my mom?" Thea asked immediately.

"We need to discuss something about this case." Jean said. "Your boyfriend Roy was arrested last night."

"I know, but it was actually a misunderstanding." Thea said. "He got released."

"Well, a few reporters got hold of the story and they now know you're dating a known felon." Jean told her. "Thea, your mother is on trial for her life. Her whole defense pivots on being seen as a loving mother who did what she had to do to protect her children, what kind of parent she was. We need the people to know that she raised you to make good decisions. So, if you care about your mom, you're going to have to end this relationship immediately." She told a stunned Thea.

 **Moscow**

 **Bratva Bar**

Nathan, Helena and Lyla were walking into a similar type of club. Nathan looked around for a moment before a loud, booming voice grabbed his attention.

"Nathaniel Queen?" he turned to see Anatoli Knyazev rising to greet him. "Ha! My favorite American!" the two men embraced, and Anatoli gave Nathan the traditional kisses to each cheek. "Dabro pazhalavat." He said.

"It has been too long, old friend." Nathan agreed. "Helena, Lyla, this is Anatoli Knyazev." He said, introducing his new friend to an old one.

"Thank you for meeting us." Lyla said.

Anatoli looked them over. "If Nathaniel vouches for you, you're my second favorite Americans." He said with a smile, warmly shaking Lyla and Helena's hands.

A few minutes later, they were above the club in Anatoli's private office. The Russian brought out a bottle of vodka and four shot glasses, then began to pour. "First, a toast." He said.

Anatoli raised his glass. "Prochnost." He said.

"To strength." Nathan repeated in English. The four drank their vodka.

"Now." Anatoli said, setting his glass down and reaching for a leather box. "Business." He opened the box and withdrew a picture, then slid it to the edge of the table. "This is man you look for, yes?" he asked as Lyla picked up the picture. It was a booking shot of John, and he was already severely beaten by the looks of it. "Picture is from six days ago, from gulag- prison."

"John was arrested?" Lyla said in surprise.

"Not quite." Anatoli replied. "From what I hear, he was trying to break in."

"Why?" Lyla asked.

"I do not know." Anatoli admitted. "But clearly he had issues breaking back out. Gulag, worst in Russia. It's called Koshmar."

"The Nightmare. Great. It just had to be that one." Nathan complained to Helena and Lyla's confusion.

"It's full of violent psychopaths and killers. And that's just the guards." The Russian explained for Nathan.

"Anatoli, we need a way into the gulag to extract him." Nathan said.

Anatoli shook his head. "You get in; even you get shot dead before you get out." He said, and then indicated the picture. "Or end up like your friend. Mmm, it's impossible."

"The only thing that's impossible is us leaving this country before I confirm whether or not this man is dead, my friend." Nathan said.

Anatoli sat back in his chair and considered for a few moments. "The only way in to Koshmar is as prisoner." He said finally. "Now, I have guard there, owes me big favor. It could work. I'll give you one shot in twenty."

"Set it up." Nathan said at once. "I'll go."

"No." Lyla said. "It has to be me."

"No." Nathan said at once.

"Nathan-" Lyla said but Nathan stopped her by saying, "I have the best chance of pulling this off. I'm the one who's going in.

Nathan stared at Lyla, then looked to Anatoli and nodded. The Russian poured them all another round.

The next day, Nathan, Daisy Helena, and Lyla were in Nathan's suite at the Hotel Metropol, where Daisy was eyeing a large duffle bag filled to the top with large packets of heroine.

"Now that is a lot of drugs." Daisy noted, slightly stunned.

"Courtesy of Anatoli." Nathan said. "About enough weight to land me a one-way ticket to Koshmar."

Daisy nodded uncomfortably. She walked over to a chair and picked up a large black coat. "You need to be wearing this when they process you." She told Nathan, helping him into the coat. "Guards will take it, but that's the point." She picked up her computer and unlocked it, showing them a picture of a Russian officer. "This Is Knyazev's man inside the prison." She said. "A guard. "

"He'll know where in the gulag Agent Diggle is being held." Nathan told her.

Daisy pulled up a map and showed it to Nathan. "When all hell breaks loose, you need to meet us at the rendezvous point with Diggle, or—"

"Or I am a permanent Russian."

"'Bout sums it up," Daisy said, starting to pace.

Nathan's phone buzzed. He looked at it, and then slipped it back into his pocket. "Two minute warning." He said softly.

Helena put a scarf around his neck and kissed him. "Good luck, babe." She said. The three women watched worriedly as Nathan grabbed the bag and exited the room.

A short time later, Nathan, in a disguised form, was sitting on a small fruit crate near a factory, the bag on the ground next to him. Within moments, several police cars skidded to a stop before him. He stood and calmly raised his hands, not resisting as he was arrested.

Down at the end the alley, Anatoli watched on. As Nate was pushed into the police van, he dialed his phone. "They have him." He told Lyla.

"And now we wait." Lyla said calmly, masking how worried she was for her boyfriend.

 **Koshmar**

A guard unlocked the chain link door that led to the processing area as Nathan was led through. He walked slowly, looking around him, always looking for weak spots in the security. The guard behind him would have none of that.

"Zhivey, zhivey." He said, jabbing him in the back with his baton. "Hurry up."

Inside the processing area, Nathan was un-cuffed and his coat was ripped off of him. He calmly took the scarf off and tossed it onto the coat as it was passed through the checkpoint to the area where prisoner possessions were kept. The guard then shoved a bundle into his hands and forced him out into the next are, just as Anatoli's man walked in. The man behind the counter took the bundle of the coat and scarf and placed it into a mesh basket, marked with a number. In theory, when Nathan was released he would be able to retrieve his coat. But as prisoners seldom left the gulag alive, this was more a holding area for things that would later be sold on the black market.

After changing into his new uniform, Nathan was pushed into his new home- a rather roomy cell, filled with bunk beds. A man lay on one of the nearer beds, and looked Nathan over as the door slammed shut.

"What, uh, crime fits your punishment?" he asked.

"Got caught selling drugs." Nathan shrugged. "And you?"

The man sat up. "I gave speech. About government corruption." He replied.

Nathan chuckled. "Right."

"It is rare to see one of your people in Koshmar." He remarked.

"What, American?" Nathan asked.

"Da, Amerikanskiy." The man replied. "Amerikanskiy not popular here." He advised.

"Not like I didn't already know that." Nathan remarked, glancing at the clock.

 **Starling City**

 **Abandoned Warehouse**

Nathan's clone, in his Prometheus suit, tracked Natasha to an abandoned warehouse.

" **Alright, lets see what we got."** He wondered out loud, nocking an arrow. He searched around before he saw a phone. Which coincidentally was the same phone he had tracked her with after she ditched the car.

He reached down and picked up the phone to look at it. It was perfectly intact, which most likely meant she was still here, waiting. **"Great, I hate it when they run."** He said as he tossed the phone to the ground and stood up. **"Now, where are you?'**

Suddenly, Natasha dropped down from the rafters. She landed on his shoulders, and pulled out a garrot wire. She got it around his neck and attempted to strangle him to death, but he used his massive strength to throw her off. Pulling the Garrot off his neck and tossing it away, he took a closer look at Natasha.

Her long red wavy hair was in curls and she was wearing a black full body suit that hugged her body like a second skin and showed her curves in all the right places. ' _Sheesh, talk about a femme fatale,'_ the clone thought.

He pointed his arrow at her and said, " **Look, calm down. I don't want to fight you."**

"Then why are you following me?" She asked.

" **To talk,"** the clone said.

"I'm done talking," Natasha said ominously. She pulled out a small disk and threw it at the clone, the disk landing on his arm. The disk then discharged a powerful surge of electric current. This disk was typically meant for disabling electrical equipment or machinery but it could fry the entire nervous system of a human if it landed on the skin.

While the clone gritted his teeth in pain and tried to move his body to remove the device, Natasha was already upon him, raining numerous blows onto his face and finally taking out a gun and hitting him with the but end, knocking Nathan's clone out.

 **Factory near the edge of Moscow**

Anatoli, Lyla, Helena and Daisy stood by Anatoli's car, waiting for some of the Russian's contacts to show up.

"You think AC's ok?" Daisy asked Helena worriedly.

"I think he's doing the same as he was when you asked me five minutes ago." Lyla dryly replied.

"They're coming." Anatoli said. The three looked down at the end of the alley to see a Mercedes and a large tactical vehicle approaching. "They sell us Russian police truck for cheap." He told them.

The vehicles rolled to a stop and several men climbed out. A few had AK-47,s which they held close to their chests. The leader and Anatoli both approached one another.

"Here's the machine you need." The man said in Russian, holding up the keys to the truck.

"One thousand and fifty hundred Rubles." Anatoli replied in kind, holding up an envelope filled with hard currency. He handed the envelope to the other man, but the seller yanked the keys away.

"On your knees." He called out, and the men with the AK's raised them to point at the three buyers.

Helena took this in, and then calmly walked forward, past Anatoli, to stand in front of the seller. _"If you do this to my people, all of your men will be slaughtered like sheep. Your son's will flayed alive. Your wives and daughters will become whores for the Bratva_." She said softly in Russian, showing that she was the Alpha Female whenever Talia wasn't around.

The man swallowed hard in fear, and when Helena held out her hand, the man dropped the keys into it without a fuss. Helena tossed the keys to Anatoli, their eyes never leaving the seller, until the other man turned and headed for the Mercedes. Helena walked back to their car.

"What'd you say?" Daisy asked her over the roof of the car.

"Please." Helena replied with a wink, and the two got in.

 **Flashback**

 **Five years ago**

 _In the Amazo's brig, a much rougher looking Anatoli sat in the cell next to Nathan's. "You know, in Russia, there is gulag." He noted. "Almost as bad as this."_

 _Nathan glanced at him, but looked at the other see to see Sara standing on the other side of the bars, her face full of sadness and misery._

 _"Sara—"_

 _"Don't say my name out loud." she whispered. "If they find out we know each other, they'll kill us both." She passed a bundled up blanket through the bars to him, which he took._

 _"I feared you had drowned." Nathan said softly._

 _"When I came up, the boat was gone." She said. "And I thought you were, too. And I was floating out there for days when this ship…" she sighed. "They found me. And they saved me."_

 _"Is that why you're helping them?" he asked._

 _"I don't really have a choice, Nate." She said._

 _"I need to warn my friends." Nathan said determinedly._

 _"You said they were dead." She replied in confusion._

 _"Trust me. They are not that easy to kill." He stated, showing his complete trust in Slade and Shado._

 _On the island, in the wreckage of the plane, Shado sat next to a severely injured Slade._

 _She applied a salve to his wounds a he gasped in pain._

 _"Try not to move so much." She said as she spread the salve over the half of his face that was burnt._

 _"It smells like puke!" he argued weakly._

 _"It'll heal your wounds." She told him._

 _"You have to go." Slade said. "Get out of here. Get to higher ground."_

 _"I'm not leaving a friend behind." She told him, not noticing she had just friend zoned Slade. But he was in too much pain to care at the moment._

 _"I will not be the reason something happens to you." Slade argued._

 _"Then we're in agreement." Shado said. "Because I am perfectly capable of making my own choices."_

 _"You are a strong woman." Slade gasped._

 _"When I care about someone, there's nothing I won't do for them." Shado told him._

 _"Another thing we have in common." Slade gasped. He started shivering uncontrollably._

 _Shado looked at him in concern. "The burns, they're lowering your body temperature. Here." Quickly she climbed under the blanket and spooned up next to him, having no choice but to share her body heat with Slade in order to keep him alive._

 **Flashback end**

 **Verdant**

"Where you been all night?" Roy asked her as she walked down the stairs from the second level.

"Working." She replied evasively, Jean's words echoing in her mind.

"Oh. Well, you deserve a break." Roy said.

"Um, actually, I've been thinking." Thea said, setting her tray down on the bar. "Maybe we should take some space. I mean, we work together and live together." She sighed, still not looking at him. "It's kind of getting hard to breathe."

"Since when?" he asked. Then he realized. "Oh, wait, does this have to with that lawyer lady dropping by?" he asked bluntly.

"No, this has to do with the fact that you've been arrested twice in the last month." Thea shot back.

"Come on. I've been trying to stay out of trouble." Roy argued lightly. "My body hasn't had a scratch on it in weeks. Well, I mean, excluding the ones that you put there." He added with a grin.

"And the other night?" she asked, finally turning to face him.

"Was a misunderstanding." Roy continued.

"Roy," Thea sighed. "This just isn't working, ok? Not for me." She said.

Roy stared at her in disbelief. "Thea, you can't mean that." He said.

"I do." She said sadly. "I'm sorry."

Roy looked at her forlornly, and then stalked away, running out of the club as Thea's heart silently broke.

 **Starling City**

 **Abandoned Warehouse**

The clone groaned as he woke up. He noticed his hands were behind his back and restrained by something. He sat up and realized there was steel cord wrapped around his body.

"You're awake," He heard Natasha's voice. He looked and saw her leaning against a stack of old wooden pallets, "Now I can get some answers out of you, Mr. Queen."

The clone noticed his mask was gone and tried to break free. "Don't bother, you won't be getting out. Besides, I already removed all your weapons from your suit." She gestured to the pile next to her feet and Nathan's clone noticed a pile containing his bow, arrows, kunai, shuriken, and mask.

"Now then, how did you figure out who I really was?" Natasha asked as she pulled up a chair and sat in it.

"You remember that shoot out that happened in my board room?" Natasha nodded, beckoning him to continue. "Your acting was flawless but when I looked into your eyes, I saw something I didn't expect to see. You weren't thinking something like, " _Oh my God! There are people in here with guns!"._ You were thinking more like, " _How do I beat these guys without exposing myself."_. I didn't know your real identity, but I began to suspect you were not who you said you were."

"So, what did you look into next? I imagine that wasn't the only thing." Natasha demanded, wanting to know just how he had figured her out so the next time, she would not get caught.

"I looked into your records and resume. There were minor inconsistencies, but they added up since when I called some of your old employer's they either didn't remember hiring you or they couldn't find you in their system."

"How did you find out about me being the Black Widow?" Natasha asked.

"That was a stroke of luck when I was looking through the KGB's old files. So, what happened to you after 2007?" Nathan asked.

"Let's just say I wandered around, trying to find some way to make up for my crimes when I was in the KGB. Now for you, what do you really want with me?" She asked. Nathan closed his eyes before opening them again.

"I want you to join me," Nathan seriously.

"What?" Natasha asked, shocked that he wanted to recruit her.

"Why not? You are the best female assassin in the world. Any tactician worth their salt would want you on their side. But there is another reason." Nathan admitted.

"And what's that?" Natasha asked.

"The self-loathing in your eyes, the hatred you feel for yourself. You have the same look in your eyes that I once did. Your running from who you are because you think you're a monster." Nathan said, causing Natasha to look away.

"I **am** a monster." Natasha whispered, causing Nathan to adopt a understanding expression.

"I know what they did to you in the Red Room. How they took from you what no woman should ever have taken from her." Nathan whispered, referring to how in the Red Room, the KGB had sterilized Natasha against her will, taking away her ability to have kids so she could be more effective at seduction. "I know all the kinds of missions they made you do. You feel like because of these things, you are a monster, unworthy of redemption or peace."

"And how would you know anything about that?" Natasha genuinely demanded.

"Because at one point, Natasha, I **was** you," Nathan said, adjusting himself slightly as he wore a solemn expression on his face. "I used a rather pathetic person before that fateful boat trip. After my grandfather died, I became a selfish playboy, who cared about nothing but himself, putting my own needs before anyone else's."

"Then, in the span of a single night, I lost my father, my brother, and my oldest friend. I had to either learn to become a cold-blooded ruthless killer, or perish and make my father sacrifice meaningless. So I killed to survive, and when I lost the first woman I ever truly loved and was betrayed by my closest friend, I killed more."

"Eventually, in my third year away, I was forced to do a lot of awful things to keep my status a secret. It wasn't until I tortured someone to the point of death, to point where I relished in the pain I caused him, that I saw a glimpse of the monster that I had become. And it terrified me."

"Long story short, as I saw more and more how much of a monster I had become, I tried to run from it. But doing that nearly broke me. Without help, I would never have would have recovered. By getting help from people I trusted, I found a way to accept what I was, to live with it and be okay with it, to love myself again. All the good and bad parts. And how to use my all my skills for good, instead of just surviving one fight to the next. I became the monster that hunts other monsters, so the innocent never have to go through what I did." Nathan said as he broke out the chains and stood up, staring at her intently, "You can do it too, you know."

"I don't know how. I wouldn't even know where to begin," She whispered. His words had affected her deeply. Throughout his explanation of how he came to be what he was, she saw that he truly had gone through something similar. She felt like truly did understand what she went through and a part hoped that maybe he could help her.

"I can show you, if you let me." Nathan said, extending his hand, waiting for her to take it.

 **Russia**

 **Koshmar**

Nathan was following his new friend in the cafeteria, getting his slop like any other prisoner. He followed the Russian to a table and sat down.

The Russian glanced at another table, whose occupants were glaring at Nathan. "Those men," he indicated to Nathan. "They are Vory. They are in charge. It's best to stay away." He advised.

"Got it." Nathan replied. He leaned in close. "I'm looking for a guard by the name of Sergei Pavelski."

The Russian looked around, then spotted the man. "Far corner, over there." He said, pointing the way with his gaze. The guard and Nathan made eye contact; the guard nodded in recognition.

"American." The three Vory stalked up to the table. "You are suka now."

Nathan looked up at the punks and sighed. "Gentlemen, let's not do this." he offered. One of the men circled around and tried to hit Nathan on the back hard with one of the steel serving trays. But Nathan caught it. "Or we can do this." Nathan said, knocking the one that tried to hit him out with harsh punch to the jaw, while holding back his superstrength. Nathan quickly swept the 2nd one's leg's out from beneath him and kicked him in the face for a knockout. The third tried to punch Nathan, but he caught the punch, bending the wrist away and breaking it, before kneeing the guy hard in the balls. Two guards rushed over and broke the short fight up, lifting Nathan let them drag him out of the cafeteria.

 **Koshmar**

 **Freezer Room**

Nathan was dragged into a large freezer, and then cuffed to an overhead pipe. Across from him was two other men. One black and one who was Australian, though their heads were down so he couldn't make out a face.

"This cold room." The guard told him needlessly. "Six hours for you."

"Six hours? You can't keep me in here that long." Nathan protested.

"Now seven hours." The guard said mockingly. He and the other guard turned and walked out.

"Well, that was pretty stupid." One of other men said. Nathan recognized the voice and looked up at him as his face came into view. "Then again," Digger Harkness said, "you don't seem very bright at all, mate."

"Digger Harkness and Eric Needham." Nathan breathed.

"Your spine frozen through yet?" Needham asked after a few minutes, shivering.

"I don't get cold." Nathan said, remaining perfectly still.

"Then you're an idiot, mate." Harkness asked mockingly.

"I know why you're here." Needham continued. "That other guy. From A. R.G.U.S."

"Where is he?" Nathan wondered.

"He's dead. He got put in here for too long and froze to death." Needham said. Nathan searched Needham's eyes and saw that he was telling the truth, cursing under his breath as he realized what this meant.

7 hours later, Anatoli's guard finally came into the freezer. He walked quickly over to Nathan and undid the chains. "We don't have much time." He told the man, and then let Nathan get up.

Nathan looked at the two men before looking away and going with the guard.

 **Hotel**

Back at the hotel, a waiter came up to Helena and Lyla. "Can I get you anything else?" he asked in Russian.

"I don't think me or my friend should drink more." Helena replied in Russian.

Lyla finished her drink and sighed. Helena looked over to her and said, "You need to stop worrying about Nate. He's fine."

"I know. I do trust Nate. What's bothering me has nothing to do with him." Lyla said, as Helena thought for a moment.

"This is about Diggle, isn't it?" Helena asked, the look in Lyla's eyes confirming it.

"How'd you know?" She asked.

"You are not the only one who still feels something for someone she had lost years ago." Helena said.

"I just don't understand why I'm felling what I'm feeling right now. I love Nate. But I still feel almost the same way about John that I did before I met Nate." Lyla said in sadness.

"I wouldn't say that," Helena said, causing Lyla to look at her, "You don't call Diggle by that pet nickname you had for him anymore."

Lyla realized Helena was right as Helena finished her own drink. "When I lost Michael, I was drowning in my own despair. I felt only hatred and rage for those that took him from me, and I thought I would never be happy again. Then I meet Nate, and I slowly began healing from the hurt I had suffered from. Especially after I avenged Michael by killing my father."

"The point is, people heal from hurtful experiences at different rates. Some take weeks, some take months, some takes years, and some takes them their whole lives. You have a loving boyfriend who'd kill for you and a pack of sisters that will always have your back. It may take you awhile, but you will heal from this."

"But right now, you just need to relax, take your mind off it." Helena whispered as she kissed Lyla deeply on the lips.

Helena pulled back to stare at Lyla, love and lust equally shining in her eyes. "Let's take this upstairs." Helena ordered.

A few minutes later, Lyla and Helena where in their room, kissing frantically. Helena shoved Lyla back against the door.

"You know…we don't have a lot of time." Lyla told Helena as she kissed her neck.

Helena pulled Lyla away from the door and shoved her onto the bed. "We'll be quick."

 **Koshmar**

Back at the gulag, the guard was leading Nathan down the corridor towards where Diggle was. "Five minutes. Must hurry." He said in broken English. Nathan went in to find Diggle's frozen corpse. Sighing as this was just one of those times he wasn't going to win. He picked the body up and hoisted onto his shoulders.

"Remind me to get you a pack of cigarettes when this is all over." Nathan said as he walked out.

"I don't smoke." The guard replied. Suddenly he stopped and let out a small gurgle, before toppling face first to the floor. In his back was a long, thick icicle, having been thrown there by a newly-freed Needham and Harkness.

"You weren't going to leave without us, were you?" the Aussie asked sarcastically.

"Would it help if I said yes?" Nathan shrugged sarcastically.

"You won't." Harkness said confidently.

"And why's that?" Nathan demanded.

"Because, you're not stupid. You wouldn't put yourself in here without an exit strategy. We help you get out," Needham offered, "and you let us go free."

 **Starling City**

 **Arrow Lair**

"So, this is your secret hideout." Natasha said from inside Nathan's lair, leaning on a table. She decided to see if what he was saying was remotely true.

"Indeed, it's rather useful to have an alibi when going out as a vigilante." Nathan said as he typed away.

"You mentioned earlier that you 'hunt other monsters'. Would I be correct in assuming that's what we are doing right now?" Natasha asked.

"Yep, but I always research my targets first." Nathan said as he finished typing on his computer and pulled up several pictures of man in a well cleaned suit. "Antonio Fellers, CEO of Feller's Lead Processing. Known amongst the other CEO's in Starling City as the 'Corporate Mizer', this guy is always trying to pinch every penny. So you can imagine what happens when his company has to recycle waste metal. Instead of simply ponying up what, to a company like his, is a small amount of cash to reprocess the waste metal, he dumps it in landfills in the Glades, which eventually makes it's way into the water supply, and causes numerous outbreaks of lead poisoning in those poor people every year." Nathan turned back to Natasha. "He's a monster and he needs to be put down."

"So what's the plan?" Natasha asked.

 **Hotel**

Back at the hotel, Helena and Lyla were getting dressed for the mission. Helena got done first and went to open the door just as Daisy raised her hand to knock.

"Hi." She said.

"S'up?" Helena replied.

"It's time. Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah, I—" Helena stopped short as Lyla came out fully dressed.

"Ohh." Daisy said, a bit flustered and confused.

 **Koshmar**

Back in the Gulag, the three men rounded a corner- only to come face to face with a pair of very surprised guards. The two convicts made quick work of the guards, with Nathan scooping up the lone gun before Harkness or Needham could.

"Guessin' you want to hold on to that, mate." Harkness noted. Nathan just glared at the man. "This way." He said, leading them down the corridor.

 **Outside Gulag**

Outside the gulag in a newly-purchased police truck, Lyla, Helena and Daisy sat and waited for Nathan. All three were dressed like Russian prison officials, with Daisy wearing the traditional fur hat.

"Do I even want to know what I saw earlier?" Daisy said, tired of the awkward silence.

"Look Daisy, it's a lot more complicated than you realize." Helena said. "Now is not really time to discuss it anyway. We promise, we will give you an explanation after this is over, but for now, focus on the mission."

Anatoli climbed back into the truck. "There is nothing money cannot buy in this country." He noted happily.

"Nate should be heading out with Diggle in two minutes." Helena said.

"Well, breaking out of prison is harder than it looks." Anatoli said to Helena. "Your boyfriend knows this better than anybody."

 **Flashback**

 _ **Five years ago**_

 _Nathan lay on his cot in the cell, futilely trying to rest. The sound of jangling keys drew his attention, and he looked over to see Sara unlocking his cell and opening the door._

 _"Stay quiet." She told him as he rose. "Follow me." Nathan followed her out of the cell._

 _Anatoli looked over at the pair. "You'll remember the rest of us, yes?" he asked._

 _Nathan looked at the Russian. "I promise. I'll come back." He told the man._

 _"Come on." Sara urged._

 _Nathan followed her deeper into the ship. "Are we making a swim for it?" he asked._

 _"No. They'd shoot us the second we hit the water." She told him. Sara led him into the radio room, and quickly she sat down behind the set and started flipping switches. "You said your friends, they have one of the radios from the ship, right?"_

 _"Yeah." Nathan said, watching as she worked. "You look like you know what you're doing there."_

 _"In the past year, I've learned a lot of things I never expected to." Sara said._

 _"You and me both." Nathan said wryly._

 _Sara finished calibrating the radio. She picked up the microphone and held it out to Nathan, who looked at it warily. "They won't respond unless they hear your voice." She told him._

 _Hesitantly, Nathan took the mic. Something seemed off about Sara. She didn't seem the same. Nathan was starting to think he couldn't trust her. He decided to err on the side of caution._

 _Sara moved aside and Nathan painfully dropped into the seat. "Shado. Ni néng tingdào wo ma?" Nothing. He pressed the switch on the mic again. "Slade. Can you hear me?"_

 _On the plane, Shado grabbed the radio to respond. She spoke a word in Mandarin, and then followed that up with "Thank God you're alive."_

 _"Yeah, I'm on the freighter—" he began, but then suddenly Sara attempted to rip the mic from his hands. Had she tried this with pre-island Nathan, she would have succeeded. But this Nathan was a trained and hardened killer. He caught her wrist, and held her there. "I'm disappointed in you, Sara."_

 _He pushed her away, knocking her to the ground and quickly spoke into the radio. "Shado, you need to run now. They're coming." Nathan was distracted with his warning as Sara recovered and pulled the mic out of the plug._

 _"There's only two of them." The pirate captain said, swaggering into the room with Ivo and 2 other pirates right behind him. "They haven't moved from the location of the mortar attack."_

 _"You just confirmed that your friends are alive." Ivo said. "Which means they're still a threat. You know, until we kill them." He added coldly._

 _"You son of a bitch!" Nathan leapt up from the chair, only for the pirates to get in his way as they tag-teamed and beat him. He gasped in pain as Sara watched impassively._

 **Flashback End**

 **Fuller's Apartment Complex**

 **Balcony**

Antonio Fuller was relaxing nearby the pool, sipping a margarita as he had two guards on outside nearby and 5 inside the halls of his Apartment. Being a millionaire worth 100 million dollars offered a lot in the way of security.

The elevator to the apartment went off and the 5 guards inside trained their guns on door. One raised his radio to his mouth and spoke into it. "Was Mr. Fuller expecting a guest?"

One of the two guards asked him and he said he wasn't. "No," the guard said.

"Roger that," the guard with the radio said. They all trained their guns on the door as it opened. Only for nobody to come out. The guards were confused. Was the elevator broke?

Suddenly, a black arrow came out of nowhere, hitting the guard with the radio in the back of the throat. Another hit the guy next to him.

The other guards turned around only to be felled by silenced gun shots.

The guards on the balcony with Fuller did a radio check in with the guys inside, only to hear static. Alarmed, they pulled out their guns.

An arrow came from the right and felled one guard with a shot to the larynx. Another was felled by a silenced bullet. Frightened, Antonio Fuller, frantically tried to get up and run for his worthless life. Only to scream in pain and stop as a arrow pierced through his left knee.

" **Antonio Fuller,"** came Prometheus voice as he came out of the shadows, bow and arrow trained on the scumbag, " **You have failed this city."** HE let the arrow loose and it pierced Fuller through the brain. Prometheus and Black Widow left for the lair after that.

" **So, what do ya think?"** Prometheus asked as he began collecting some of his weapons.

"I'm not convinced yet, but I would like to stick around. Maybe, you might be able to convince me," Natasha said, sporting a flirtatious smirk.

" **Well, I look forward to convincing you."** Prometheus said, the clone deciding to introduce her to the team later.

 **Koshmar**

At the Gulag, Needham and Harkness led Nathan to a gate to the outside gate.

"What's your extraction plan?" Harkness asked.

"Depends." Nathan said. "What time is it?"

 **Processing Room**

In the processing room, one of the guards was trying on Nathans' jacket. " You think it looks good on me?" he joked in Russian to his comrades.

Another guard saw the red star pin on the lapel of the jacket was blinking. Suddenly, it started blinking faster…

Moments later, a massive explosion ripped a hole in the gulag. Down in Lyla's cell, all three felt the blast, and then heard the sirens as they started to go off.

"Let's go, go, go, move, move, move!" Nathan thundered. The three ran through the halls, making their way through the chaos without being seen. They climbed into the processing area, over the rubble, looking at the devastation. Nathan finally spotted the hole. "This way." He directed.

In the truck, Daisy finished up on her computer. "Got it." She said. "I shut down the phones. The guards can't call for help."

Nathan, Needham and Harkness made their way out of the wrecked processing center and into the central courtyard. Suddenly they were surrounded by 10 guards, screaming at them in Russian. Nathan slowly raised his hands-

As one guard got too close, Nathan ripped the gun out of his hands and used his new meat shield as three other guards fired at him. Nathan popped out from behind the dead meat shield and shot the other 3 guards. Nathan then shot another one who was behind him.

One guard rushed at him, but Nathan ripped the gun out of his hand, punched the guard in the face, knocked him to the ground and shot him twice in the chest, before shooting the other shooting 5 in the head.

The truck finally broke through the gate. The back door opened to find Anatoly, who placed Diggle's body in the back as his did. "Ready to go?" He asked Nathan.

"One Moment," Nathan said as he knocked both Harkness and Needham with a couple punches before conjuring black magic chains around them before he threw into the back, "Now I'm ready to go."

Anatoly dove for several miles before breathing a sigh of relief. "We're clear." He announced.

 **Iron Heights**

 **Next day**

Thea walked into the visitors area- to see Moira talking with Roy.

"Wh-what are you- what are you doing here?" she stammered in surprise.

"Good question." Roy replied. "I've gotten a lot of calls from prison, but never from my girlfriend's mother."

"It occurred to me that I've never been given the opportunity to meet the man in your life." Moira said lightly.

"I don't know if she told you, but your daughter kind of dumped me." Roy said bluntly.

"And what you should know is that she did it for me." Moira told Roy, and then looked back to her daughter. "Jean told me she came to see you. I told her she shouldn't have."

Roy turned to Thea. "Why didn't you just tell me the truth?" he asked, still hurt.

"Us being together… it can hurt her case." She said, though it sounded lame to her when she said it out loud.

"Thea- Your social life is not going to be the determining factor in my trial." Moira said, taking her daughters hands in her own. "Sweetheart, what you've had to endure this last year is more than most people go through in two lifetimes. But you've not only survived, you've flourished. I think a lot of that has to do with Roy." She said, nodding at the young man. "So, as your mother, I forbid you not to see him." She said in a mock-stern voice.

The two women laughed. "Thank you." She said, hugging her mother.

 **Nathan's suite**

 **That morning**

In Nathan's bed, there was rustling under the covers. Nathan and Lyla pop out from under, taking a break from their passionate lovemaking.

"I have to admit, this is not how I anticipated our trip to Russia ending." She said with a smile as she laid on her back, wrapped in Nathan's arms and they kissed.

"I was wondering, are you okay," Nathan asked. She looked at him with a confused expression and he explained, "Helena may have told me about the Diggle situation. I just wanted to know how you felt."

Lyla pondered for a moment before answering, "I admit, I'm sad that John's gone. After all this time, I still loved him."

"You never forget your first love, Lyla. And that's not really a bad thing." Nathan whispered with a smile.

Lyla returned the smile and said with the utmost sincerity, "But, it doesn't hurt as much as I thought. Because I have you, Helena, and the rest of the girls. And while I will mourn for my former husband and miss him, I wouldn't trade what I have here for anything. Because, Nathaniel Queen, I love you."

Nathan smiled and gave her a deep and loving kiss. He pulled away and said, "I love you too, Lyla Michaels."

"We all do," Came Helena's voice as she rolled over to the side and pressed her assets against Nathan's back while peeking over his shoulder. Nathan rolled back onto his back as he resumed making love to both of his girlfriends since his clone was handling his affairs at the office.

 **Flashback**

 _ **Five years ago**_

 _"We have their last location, even if they're not there." The pirate said. "This one's no longer of use to us." He drew his Luger and aimed it at Nathan's head as the other pirates held him there. "Let's see how good you are at removing a bullet from your head."_

" _Go ahead, you pathetic fool. Shoot me. But know this, you will never find the other two. They're more than capable of hiding from professionally trained soldiers, they'll have no problem hiding from a pack of pathetic pirates like you. The moment you pull that trigger is the moment you lose the only chance of finding those graves," Nathan goaded, causing the pirate to growl._

 _"Wait!" Sara said suddenly. "He's right. He could still be useful." She said, looking at Ivo._

 _Ivo considered her for a moment. "She's right." He said after a moment. "Once we get rid of his friends, we'll still need someone to lead us to the graves."_

 _The pirate scowled at Sara. "Sometimes I wonder who gives the orders here." He said snidely. "You or your little bouzin." He stalked out of the room._

 _Ivo smirked as he walked towards Nathan. He leaned down over the table. "You're going back to the island. Nathan." He said._

 _Nathan looked over at Sara, who looked on impassively. He wasn't sure if he imagined it or not, but he thought he saw a flicker of regret in her eyes._

 **Flashback end**

 **Natasha's Safe House**

Natasha entered her safe house and closed the door. After doing her routine checks and making sure it wasn't bugged, she pulled out a burner phone and dialed a number. Someone picked up on the other end. "Report."

"You were right," Natasha said, "He made his recruitment offer."

"I knew Mr. Queen would when he realized who you were, though the fact that it took him so long to figure you out is a testament of your skill as a spy and infiltrator." The voice said.

"So what do you want me to do now?" Natasha asked.

"I originally had Agent Michaels on his team to monitor him, but she got involved with him romantically and I can't trust her to put her mission before her own feelings anymore. He's my best Shadow Operative but he has as many secrets as I do. Your mission is simple. Get close to him. Make yourself indispensable to him. Seduce him if you must. Learn everything that you can about him. I want to know every single one of the secrets that he shares with his little harem."

"Not kill him?" Natasha asked for confirmation.

"You wouldn't be able to kill him. Do you understand?" the voice asked.

"Yes," Natasha said as she hung up, "Director Waller."

 **Chapter End**

 **So after adding Natasha, I had to come up with how to add her. Don't worry about her technically being a mole on the team. I don't plan to keep her like this forever.**


	27. Chapter 27: State VS Moira Queen

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth 0 Laurel, Earth 2 Laurel Lance(Eventually)**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Lena Luthor,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Loise Lincoln aka Killer Frost, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Dinah Drake, McKenna Hall, Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl, Harley Quinn,**

 **Can't make up my bloody mind:**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Amanda Waller, Eliza Danvers, Caitlin Snow, Isabel Rochev**

 **Now, Moira will be freed, but not by who you think, and a special someone will make a reappearance.**

 **Chapter 27 State V. Queen**

 **Undisclosed Location**

A man covered by shadows in a buddhist temple was sitting cross-legged, meditating as the many candles burned in the background.

Suddenly, a cell phone rang. The man opened his eyes and pulled out his phone and answered it, while still sitting. "I wasn't expecting a call from you," He said into the phone.

"I know, sensei. However, I am in need of some assistance from you." The man said on the other end.

"This is about your mother." He stated. "You know as well as I do, that you don't need my help."

"Maybe, but I have to be present for the entire trial in order to avoid being tied back to any sabotage of the trial." The man on the other end said.

"You'd manipulate the law in the same manner those poisoning that beloved city of yours have?" The sensei asked with a bit of surprise.

"It's only once. Besides, she's my mother. No matter what wrong she committed, it was still under duress, courtesy of Merlyn. I won't have my only remaining parent sent to jail because of some technicality, and a gung-ho lawyer who sticks his nose where it doesn't belong."

The sensei contemplated for a moment before making up his mind. "I'll be there tomorrow."

 **Starling City**

 **Next Day**

Lyla's replacement guard opened the door of the Mercedes, allowing Nathan to climb out in front of the courthouse. Thea followed right behind, and the trio made their way towards the entrance, pushing past the reporters as they shouted questions at them.

"Mr. Queen, what are your mother's chances?" one asked.

"Is she on suicide watch?" shouted another.

"Mr. Queen, can you give us any comment?" shouted yet another.

"It's not fair." Laurel remarked to Adam Donner as they watched them approach from the top of the stairs. "They're not the ones on trial."

"That won't stop Jean Loring from using them as props to drum up sympathy." Donner pointed out crassly.

"You don't seem overly concerned." Laurel noted.

Donner smirked. "She confessed to being an accomplice on live television."

"That may be, but she also confessed under duress by the Arrow. That fact alone makes her admission hold less weight." Laurel looked at Donner, who was smiling. "You have something, don't you?" she said. "I thought I was your co-counsel, Adam. If you're holding a trump card, don't you think maybe you should share it with me?"

"It's going to be a good trial." Donner said confidently and vaguely at the same time. "Come on, let's get inside." Donner moved to the door.

Laurel turned to follow, but paused as she saw Nathan walk up the steps. Nathan looked over at her, his expression closed off.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _ **Five years ago**_

 _Nathan looked at the plane, his expression closed off. His hands were bound in front of him and he was being led by a large group of men, along with Ivo, Sara, and the Pirate captain. "Don't do this." He told Sara._

 _"Ivo says we have to." Sara replied. "Your friends are a danger to his men."_

 _"Go." The captain ordered his men. "Quick and quiet."_

 _Nathan was having none of that. "Slade! Shado! Run!" he yelled. For his effort, he got a punch in the jaw that sent him to the ground. The pirates opened fired on the plane, spraying bullets into the fuselage. After a few seconds they stopped. One of the men approached the fuselage and looked inside._

 _"There's no one here." He called out._

 _"They must have moved on from their position." Ivo deduced. He pulled a black device out of his pocket. On it was a digital clock that read 4:30. "Charges are placed. Here's the detonator." He handed it to the pirate. "Make sure they have no place to return to. Go." The man ran back to the plane and threw the device into the fuselage._

 _"And you." Ivo snarled at Nathan. "Now you're going to take us to the graves." He looked to the captain. "Let's go. Get him up." The black man hauled Nathan to his feet. "Let's get clear." The group walked off into the jungle._

 _In the fuselage, Shado quickly got out of their hiding place. She found the detonator and disarmed it with only seconds to spare._

 _"Did you find the detonator?" Slade rasped, pulling himself out._

 _"Yes." She tossed the deactivated device down on the table. "We were lucky." She said._

 _"I was lucky. You were good." Slade replied, sitting down on a crate._

 _"Either way- they have Nathan." She said, gathering up her bow, quiver and hood. "I'm going after him."_

 _"Not alone." Slade said._

 _"You can barely walk." Shado told the man._

 _"All the more reason not to stay here." Slade countered. "Give them another chance at blowing me up." He limped out of the plane, leaving Shado to follow._

 _ **Flashback End**_

 **Present**

A short time later, Moira Queen was led into the courtroom and escorted over to the defendants table. She looked at the front row that contained Nathan, Thea and Roy- in a suit, no less- and allowed the officer to remove the cuffs. Donner smirked at the display as Moira sat down and turned to face her family, smiling reassuringly before the trial began.

'-Malcolm is planning to level the Glades!.' Donner stood next to the flat screen TV as Moira's televised forced confession played. He paused the playback and turned to the jury. "And it nearly worked." He began. "The Glades were almost destroyed. Homes and lives were still lost. All because of her actions. True, she had second thoughts." He offered, then turned to face Moira. "But on behalf of the lives lost in the evacuation that day, I say, Moira Queen, your remorse comes too late." He said dramatically.

'-his decisions left me vulnerable to Malcolm, and I had no choice. I had to protect my family and my children—' "Why wouldn't let those threats silence her?" Jean asked as she paused the playback. "Why wouldn't Moira Queen be terrified? Malcolm Merlyn killed her first husband, abducted her second, not to mention, caused the events that led to her eldest son's death and her youngest son being stranded on his own for 5 years, struggling day to day just to survive." She pointed out. "Why wouldn't she fear for her life? For the life of her remaining family? What would you do? If it were your children or your spouse in the crosshairs of a mad man's rage?" she asked the jury.

 **QC**

 **Skye's Desk in IT**

Skye was watching the news broadcast as she did her daily work. '-S.T.A.R. Lab's particle accelerator will be turned on right on schedule.' The news broadcast was saying.

 _'In other news, we have just received word that both sides have now completed their opening statements in the Moira Queen trial.'_ She looked up to see Lyla enter the office. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't looking so hot right now." She said worriedly.

"Yeah, well, I don't feel great, Skye. I just got back from a tiresome mission with Argus." Lyla said, sitting in the chair for the desk opposite of her. She paused and looked at her. "Is there a right way to take that?"

"You should go home. Rest up" She said as she rose from her seat.

"I'm going to." Lyla said. "But I'd like to just sit for a few minutes."

Skye put the tv on mute and turned to Lyla. "So, I believe back in Russia you and Lyla promised you would explain that…thing I walked in on." Lyla groaned inwardly, since it now fell to her to explain Nathan's rather complex love life.

 **Courthouse**

Nathan was back in the visitors' gallery, watching as his sister gave her testimony to Adam Donner.

"When was the first time you heard about this so-called Undertaking?" Donner asked Thea.

She leaned in close to the microphone. "When everyone else did, when my mother's confession was aired on live TV." She replied nervously.

"Doesn't seem like you took it too well." Donner noted. Nathan looked back behind him and saw Helena. They mouthed 'I love you's' before turning around.

"I was shocked." Thea replied. "Who wouldn't be?" she looked at him, expecting his next question right away. Instead, Donner looked flustered.

Donner cleared his throat. "Uh, your mother was, um, immediately taken into custody, but I assume you went down to the precinct to see her?" he asked, hesitantly at first then building up strength.

"Um, actually I didn't see her until she was moved." Thea admitted.

"To the prison." Donner clarified. "Do you remember when you visited her?" he asked.

"Uh, not the exact date." She hedged.

"It's ok, I have the visitor log here." Donner picked the log up from his table and looked at the marked page. "October ninth." He said loudly. "Five months later." Donner set the book back down on the table, but suddenly his strength wavered. He leaned heavily against the table. "Why so long?" he asked in a halting voice.

"Um, I—I…" Thea looked at the D.A., concerned despite what he was doing. "Are you ok?" she asked as murmurs started from the visitors.

"An answer, please." Donner said loudly, forcing himself back up and turning to face Thea. "Why did it take you five months to visit your mother?" he asked forcefully.

"Your Honor, if I—" Jean started to object.

The judge held up his hand to stop her. "No. I want to hear this." He said.

"I needed time." Thea finally said. "I was angry."

"So angry, perhaps, that it took you five months to forgive her?" Donner supposed.

"It was complicated." Thea argued.

"No. It's very simple." Donner countered. "You blamed your mother for what she had done." He looked to the jury. "So why shouldn't the jury?" Donner moved back to his table. "Your Honor, we have no further questions for the…witness." Suddenly, Donner leaned heavily against the table as the world around him started going in and out of focus. Laurel looked up at him in concern. Then he dropped to the floor and started convulsing.

"Adam!" Laurel shouted, jumping up from her chair as worried murmurs started growing louder in the audience. Nathan jumped up to check on him.

But secretly, he wasn't concerned at all.

 **Flashback**

 **Five years ago**

 _Nathan led the small party into the cave, and Ivo immediately dropped to the ground and started looking through the skeletons of the soldiers._

 _"Where is it?" he demanded to no one as he searched the skeletons. "Come on, where is it?!" Ivo rounded on Nathan. "The Hosen, where is it?" he demanded._

 _"What the hell are you talking about?" Nathan asked in confusion._

 _"The arrowhead." He explained hotly. "Every report said it was with these bodies. You said you and your friends were here. Now, where is it?" Nathan said nothing. "Take him outside." He told the captain. "Make him show you where his friends are hiding."_

 _The captain dragged Nathan outside the cave and threw him a good five feet to the ground, where he landed hard. "Take us to them." The Captain demanded._

 _"I don't even know where they are, you fool." Nathan argued._

 _The captain growled and withdrew his luger, pressing it to Nathan's hand. "Tell me, or you lose your hand."_

 _"Let us suggest another option." Everyone looked up to see Shado and Slade standing there. Shado had her bow primed and aimed right at the captain, while Slade trained his MP5 on the others._

 _"You hand the kid over to us, and we don't kill you all." Slade threatened. A moment later, Ivo exited the cave and Slade moved his submachine gun onto him._

 **Flashback End**

 **Present**

Donner was being wheeled out of the courtroom on a gurney. He was confused and fiddling with his I.V. line as the paramedic tried to keep him still as they made their way to the ambulance.

Nathan watched him go, and then moved over to his sister. "Hey, are you ok?" he asked her.

"Don't worry about me. I can take it." She said with false confidence.

Out in the ambulance, the D.A. was loaded and the doors were closed.

Back in the courthouse, Moira followed Jean into a side chamber to confer.

"Was that as bad as it seemed?" Moira asked.

"Thea's testimony?" Jean asked to clarify. She nodded. "It was a set-back. We were counting on her to-"

"Humanize me."

Jean looked back at Moira. "Frankly, yes." She admitted. "And now we're going to have to go another way."

"No." Moira said at once. "No, I told you, I won't testify."

"I know you did." Jean said. "But now you have to."

"She's right, Mom." They looked up to see Nathan standing in the door. "Jean, could I have a moment with my mother?" he asked.

"Yeah." She agreed, walking out of the room.

"I know what you're going to say." Moira said. "But if I testify, it will destroy our family."

"And if your lawyer's right, you don't have a choice." Nathan countered. "Mom, secrets are what put you in this situation. Secrets and lies." He sighed. "And now it is time to let the truth into the light."

 **QC**

Lyla was sitting across from Daisy, who was basically in shock.

"Wait, say that again." Daisy said as she brought her hand to her face.

' _This is why I didn't want to explain this. Helena or Chien would be better suited for this.'_ Lyla mentally cursed.

She backpedaled and said, "Nathan has a complex yet loving relationship with Helena Bertinelli, Chien Na Wei, a woman named Talia, and myself. At the same time."

"Y-You're all having sex with him!?" Daisy asked in shock.

"Not just sex, although I will admit, the sex with him alone is a truly unique and rewarding experience." Lyla sighed pleasurably in remembrance.

Hey, what can she say? Nathan is the best when it comes to his skill in bed.

"And you're also in a relationship with him? Everyone of you?" Daisy asked.

"With Nathan, it's not just friends with benefits. It's not meaningless to him, it's a…real relationship." Lyla tried to explain. "Listen I know it doesn't make any sense. How can a man possibly love multiple women at once? Well, Nathan is just unique in that regard. Nathan is a man who loves easily. You don't have to be okay with it, just understand that we all love him. Ever since we've met him, we have never felt more fulfilled or happy than when we are with him. It would break his heart to have to choose between any of us. And this way, he doesn't have to."

Daisy sat back in her chair, overwhelmed by the whole ordeal.

 **DA's Office**

At the District Attorney's office, District Attorney Kate Spencer was talking with Sebastian Blood and Laurel.

"This city is turning into one of junkies." Blood said, pacing the room. " ADA Donner's medical report came back. He apparently suffered an overdose on methamphetamine, but he appears to not know how, under the claim that he as never taken it. So what do we do know?"

"Hmm. As cold as it sounds, I've got other concerns." Spencer said. She looked to the younger lawyer. "Laurel?"

"Adam's trial notes are very thorough." She told her boss.

"They better be." Spencer said. "You're lead counsel now."

Laurel looked up, alarmed. "Ms. Spencer, you're the district attorney." She pointed out.

"Yes, but you're the one that the jury knows." She countered. "You'll do fine, Laurel." She assured her, mistaking one concern for another.

"I know." She said, looking at the file. "I just found Adam's trump card."

 **Verdant**

Thea was sitting at the bar of the closed club, lost in thought when Roy walked up to her. She started slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you walk up." She muttered softly. "I just want to be left alone."

"Well, too bad that's not an option for you." Roy said. "But maybe I know something that is." He dropped a pair of red boxing gloves onto the bar top that Thea looked at incredulously. "Hit me."

"What?"

Roy looked at his girlfriend. "You wonder why I used to go out at night looking to throw down with bad guys." He started. "Part of it was to help the city. And the other part was to help me."

"Getting tuned up by street thugs helped you?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, well, I gave as good as I got." Roy replied, strapping her hands into the gloves. "There we go." He said as he finished. "When I would throw a punch, I'd be so angry. I'd feel this heat rising inside of me, in my jaw. In my chest. And my fists. But it needed somewhere to go. Come on." He tugged her out onto the empty dance floor. "Thea, you're angry. At your mother, the D.A., yourself, maybe." He explained. "But that anger is going to chew up your insides if you don't let it out."

"I'm not going to hit you, Roy." Thea protested.

"Try." Roy dared. "Try!" he said again, an edge to his voice. Thea took a lackadaisical swing, hitting him softly in the arm. "I said hit me, right?" he mocked. "'Cause that felt like- that didn't really feel like anything." She hit him again, this time putting more effort into it. "Better." He said. "But keep your wrists straight. Don't just use your arm. Put your entire body into it." She hit him again. "Come on, again." He stood there as she started throwing hard punches, one after the other. With each punch, the careful control of her emotions began to slip until finally she collapsed into Roy's arms, crying.

 **Iron Heights**

Moira was led into the visitor's area, but stopped cold when she saw Laurel standing there.

"You shouldn't be here." Moira told her coldly. "My attorney needs—"

"Moira." Laurel cut her off. "I know I could be disbarred for speaking with you, but this isn't something for lawyers. This is a family matter." She said significantly.

Moira reluctantly came to the table, and the two women sat. "Jean told me she's calling you to the stand tomorrow." Laurel began.

"Yes." Moira replied tersely.

"You can't testify." Laurel stated bluntly.

Moira sat back. "Well. The fact that you don't want me to, Laurel, is a good indication that I should."

"If you take the stand, I'll have to cross examine you, and I'll have to do it to the best of my ability." Laurel continued.

"Yes, I understand." Moira said off-handedly.

"No, I don't think you do." Laurel opened her folder, then turned it and slid it to Moira so she could read what was inside- Donner's trump card. "Forget about what this will do to Nathan and Thea. It also could undermine your entire case. So, Moira, please." She placed her hands on Moira's. "Please. Don't make me use this." She begged. "Everything is at stake for you. And I don't want to be the one to take it all away."

Moira pulled her hands away, a look of dread on her face.

 **Courthouse**

 **Next day**

Moira, Nathan, Thea and Jan were in chambers, where Moira was about to reveal part of a devastating truth.

"But you said you didn't want to testify." Thea said after her mother told them she was taking the stand. She sighed "But you have to. Because of me.' She dropped into her chair, dejected.

Moira shook her head. "No."

"You have to do damage control." Thea continued.

"None of this is your fault." She said to Thea sternly. "We're here because of what I did." She sighed. "Now, you both know the truth, but you don't know all of it. Laurel does."

"What does she have on you?" Nathan demanded, tired of the secrets.

"You shouldn't have to find this out in court." Moira said after a moment.

"Find out what?" Thea asked.

Moira paused again, summoning the courage to speak. "Years ago- it was many yes ago, your father was engaging in his- his extramarital activities." She said delicately. "And I had a moment of weakness. I cheated on him." She paused. "With Malcolm Merlyn."

Nathan looked disgusted. Thea shook her head in denial. "No." she said. "No, I- I asked you about this. Last year. You said that there was nothing between you two!" she exclaimed.

"There wasn't." Moira said at once. "Sweetheart, it wasn't an affair. It was very brief, and a long time ago."

 **Courtroom**

Laurel had just revealed the same thing to the jury. "And despite it, you remained friends with Mr. Merlyn." she said as she cross-examined Moira. "In fact, he frequently attended parties at your home."

"He was my husband's best friend until Malcolm killed him." Moira pointed out.

"And this is why you claimed to feel as though you were in fear for your life and the lives of your children?" Laurel asked.

"Well, I think it's a fairly compelling reason." Moira said defensively.

"Last year, your second husband, Walter Steel, was abducted by Mr. Merlyn, is that correct?" Laurel asked.

"Yes. So you see—"

"Why didn't Merlyn kill Walter, the same as your first husband?" Laurel asked at once.

Moira sighed. "I convinced Malcolm not to." She admitted.

"And Malcolm listened to you." Laurel pointed out for the jury. "Your friend spared Walter's life, and yet, you'd have this jury believing that you and your children were in danger?" she asked, her voice full of incredulity.

"We were." Moira said, again on the defensive. "I was afraid—"

"Afraid of getting caught." Laurel said, cutting her off.

"Despite whatever youthful mistakes I might have made, Malcolm Merlyn was a dangerous man." Moira tried.

"To other people." Laurel stated. "But the only person who truly posed a danger to Moira Queen and her family was Moira Queen."

Later on, Nathan and Thea sat outside while the court was in recess. Nathan got up and started to pace, stopping when he saw Laurel emerge. The lawyer froze, then immediately turned and started walking the opposite way. Concerned, Nathan walked around, meeting her before she reached the stairs.

"Hey." He said.

"Ok, if you want to attack me, go right ahead." Laurel said in a rush. "But you should know that you're not going to say anything that I haven't already said to myself."

"Whoa, whoa, calm down." Nathan said, cutting her rant short. "I know that that was difficult for you, and I just want to make sure that you're ok." He reached out to her, but she jumped back as if hit.

"No, no. I don't understand how you can forgive me after what I just did in there." She said, confused. "I don't understand how anyone could." She walked rapidly away, leaving Nathan standing alone.

 **Flashback**

 **Five years ago**

 _Ivo looked at the new arrivals in frustration. "So, obviously you three took the Hosen out of this cave." He deduced. He looked to the captain. "Lift him up." He ordered. The pirate did so. "Now I know he doesn't have it, which means one of you two does. Give it to me, and we'll discuss an exchange." He offered._

 _"We don't know what you're talking about." Shado said. "Give us Nathan, and we'll leave you alone to look for it."_

 _One of the pirates went to make a move, only to be shot in the foot by Slade "Anybody else want to be stupid?" he asked as the pirate cried out in pain._

 _"Hey. Hey!" Ivo shouted. He huffed in annoyance. "Fine. Take 'em. Cut him loose." He said to the captain. The black man pulled out a knife and cut his bonds, and Nathan stood there for a moment, rubbing his wrists. His eyes met with Shado's and she gave a subtle nod._

 _Then, with sudden speed and precision, Nathan pulled the luger from the captain out of his hands and shot him in the stomach. Nathan fired at several pirate guards, killing them. As the pirates started to recover, Nathan grabbed Sara's hand and pulled her along with him as he began to run._

 _"What are you doing?!" she asked in confusion as they ran, Slade laying down covering fire._

 _"We have to keep moving, they're following us!" Nathan yelled as the four castaways ran out of the thick jungle into a small clearing. As they crossed it, Shado took out the detonator and re-activated it._

 _"Not for long." she said, tossing it on the ground as she ran. A few moments later the Captain and one of his men ran into the clearing- just as the detonator exploded, sending both men flying._

 **Flashback End**

 **Court house**

Nathan and Thea were standing at the rail at the top floor, leaning against it and waiting for news.

"Thea?" the two looked over to see Jean walking towards them.

"Can we call it a night?" Thea asked.

"The jury just signaled that they could have a verdict." Jean told them. "The judge will not send them home. He wants to get this over with."

"Line forms behind me." Thea said sarcastically.

"A verdict that quickly is bad, isn't it?" Nathan said in dread.

Jean sighed. "I think the two of you should prepare for the worst."

Jean walked off, and then Nathan's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw Henri's name on the screen. "Excuse me." He told his sister, moving off before picking up the call. "Sensei. What is it?"

"Nathaniel." Henri Ducard said.

"You needn't worry about this verdict. I've taken care of it." He said.

"I see," Nathan briefed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sensei." He hung up the phone. Helena walked up to him.

"Hey," she said as they embraced each other. "I'm sorry. It's not looking good for her."

"I have a feeling," Nathan said as they shared a kiss, "That everything is going to work out."

"Nate, what did you do?" Helena asked in concern.

" _I_ did nothing." Nathan said. "Look, she's my mother. I can't let her go to jail for something like this."

"I know," Helena said as they shared one final kiss. "I'll see you after."

He walked around the waiting area, stopping next to his sister.

Jean walked up to them. "Hey. Jury's back."

"Come on." Thea told Nathan, and they headed back in.

Moments later, the judge restarted the proceedings. "I have received a note that the jury has arrived at a verdict." He said, turning to the bailiff. "Please publish the verdict."

"In the superior court of Star county state versus Moira Queen verdict." She began. "On one count of conspiracy in the first degree, the defendant is found not guilty." Nathan's face showed joy. "On the many counts of murder in the first degree, the defendant is found- Not guilty." Moira sagged in relief and she hugged Jean. Nathan smiled as the courtroom exploded into pandemonium. Even Thea sat in shock. Finally, Moira let go of Jean and moved over to her children.

"Mom." Nathan said, rising to give his mother a hug. Soon Thea was pulled in as well.

"I love you both so much." She told them tearfully. Nathan looked up and caught Laurel's eye. Her face was blank, revealing nothing, and she calmly made her way out of the courtroom.

 **Arrowcave**

 _'A stunning result, as Moira Queen is acquitted of all charges.'_ The tv in the Lair later that night, where once again Skye had on the news. _'In a day that's provided a week's worth of shocks and legal twists, many had pronounced this case a done deal…'_

"Congratulations." She told Nathan as he walked in. She sat in her chair with a blanket over her shoulders. He had taken off his coat and sat down.

"So, how are you holding up?" Nathan asked Skye. Skye was confused. "Lyla told me that you walked on a intimate moment between her and Helena, and then she had to try to explain everything to you today."

"Look, I have no issue with you sleeping with the others." Skye assured. "I just don't understand how you can have an actual relationship with two of them, let alone all four. One of whom I haven't even met yet."

"Yeah, Talia's a bit of a nomad. She has certain duties that make it so she can't stay for long periods of time." Nathan smiled.

"I'm sure you know how I was like before the island. A party boy who cared for only himself and the next girl he could bring into his bed." Naruto said.

"Yeah, its pretty easy To see what you were like thanks to the tabloids and Internet videos." Skye said.

"When I was on the island, doing a complete 180 just to stay alive something in me changed, going from a pathetic playboy to a ruthless, coldblooded killer. I met a woman on the island, named Shado, and despite the fact that the two of us, and our other friend, Slade, were struggling to survive everyday, I was happy."

"I was happy because I had forged a bond of brotherhood with Slade, and I fell in love with Shado. For the 1st time in my life, I actually cared about someone who wasn't my family. Back before the island, that was lost on me."

"I also lost those two. Shado, because she died saving me, and Slade betrayed me." Naruto said as he clenched his hands. Skye, felling sympathetic, placed a hand on his.

"I think that's why I allow myself to love so easily. I lost too much before coming back to Starling and missed out on so many chances to have a better life before the island, that now I try to live life to the fullest, and I am most fulfilled when I am with the women that I love." Nathan said.

Nathan sighed and said to Skye, "So, have I lost you?"

Skye smiles and says, "You can't get rid of me that easily, AC. See ya tomorrow." Skye says as they smile at each other and leave.

 **Flashback**

 **Five years ago**

 _After what seemed like eternity, the four castaways stopped running to catch their breath._

 _"Why did you do that?!" Sara demanded._

 _"Because you're my oldest friend and you stopped the captain from killing me." Nathan replied. He looked up at Shado. "Thank you for coming. Shado," Nathan and Shado shared a quick kiss before he looked over at Slade, who was gasping for breath harder than the rest of them combined. "He doesn't look too good."_

 _"He's not." She admitted. She looked at the blonde. "Who's this?"_

 _"This is Sara. The girl I told you about." Nathan informed quickly, to which Shado nodded. "That Hosen thing they're looking for is back on the plane."_

 _"No, I've got it." Shado said, pulling it out from under her shirt where it had hung from her neck. "It has a Buddhist inscription on one side. It reminded me of my father."_

 _"I'm pretty sure they aren't interested in Buddhism." Slade gasped._

 _"What's on the other side?" Nathan asked._

 _Shado turned it over. "30-30-147-12."_

 _"Wait, that sounds like…" Nathan began._

 _"Latitude and Longitude coordinates." Shado realized. "To what?"_

 _"A Kairyu-class Japanese submarine which ran aground here during World War II." Sara revealed._

 _"What do these guys want with a 70 year old sub?" Slade asked._

 _"The sub isn't important, but what's on it-" she looked up at Nathan. "It'll save the human race."_

 _Nathan looked at the grievously injured Slade. "Will it save him?" he asked._

 _At the clearing, the captain was crawling away while clutching his bleeding stomach when Ivo and another pirate walked up._

 _"Well, you survived your own stupidity for the moment, congratulations." Ivo said sarcastically. He knelt down and yanked the captain's gun from its holster. "You know I needed you to deal with any resistance that I encountered on the island." He stood and pointed the gun at the captain's head. "I got to say, you've done a fairly lousy job of that." He fired once, killing the man. He then handed the pistol to his companion. "Congratulations. You're the new captain." He said dryly before stalking off, leaving the stunned Captain behind._

 **Flashback end**

 **Dark Alleyway**

"So, you wish me to bring this up at congress," said a man in a suit.

"These two laws violate the Free Exercise Clause. And infringes upon the social and intrapersonal rights of the American population and even insults the very foundations of American democracy in the first place, Senator." Nathaniel said.

"I know you plan to make this into an Amendment. But I can't promise anything." The senator said.

"I'm sure you'll be able to get it done. And if not, refer the senators to me." Naruto said as they shook hands.

 **Alderman Blood's office**

Sebastien Blood was watching the news with a scowl on his face when Officer Daley walked in.

"Sir, there's been a development." The cop said. Blood went to an ornate wooden cabinet behind his desk and opened it to reveal the leather skull mask.

Minutes later he walked into his lab. A line of men sat bound to chairs, all with bloody tears, all dead- all except the last.

 **"Brother Cyrus How do you feel?"** Brother Blood asked the man.

"Stronger." Cyrus replied.

" **Good. Then you're ready."** Brother Blood said.

 **Court House**

Moira was being released. She moved through the crowd of reporters with Jean at her side, heading towards a waiting limo.

"Mrs. Queen, how does it feel to get away with murder?" a reporter called out.

"Once you go out back, there's a car waiting for you." Jean told her client softly as they pushed through the reporters.

"Did you kill your first husband?" another reporter shouted.

"Just keep going." Jean told her, then spun back to the reporters. "Obviously, Mrs. Queen is overjoyed that the jury has ruled that she was acting under terrible duress."

"Can you give us anything else?"

"This way, Mrs. Queen." The driver said, opening the door to the limo. Moira climbed in and sighed in relief as the door closed, dimming the sound of the vultures outside. She sat in the back, looking out at the city for the first time in months as it streamed past the windows. "The freeway will be quicker." She told the driver when he turned onto a side street.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Queen. I was instructed to make a stop first before I take you home." The driver informed her. Moira looked on in increasing alarm as the driver pulled into an abandoned parking lot on the outskirts of downtown.

He climbed out, then opened the door for Moira.

"Where are we?" she asked nervously. "I-I don't know this place."

The driver stepped back and looked over her shoulder. "I've brought her, my lord." He said. He stood aside, and assumed what is called an "At Ease" stance for soldiers.

Spinning around, she saw the man the driver had addressed. It was an man who appeared to be in his late 40'/ early 50's, were a black suit with a scarf draped across his neck, walking with a cane, yet carrying himself in something of a regal manner and his lips having a mild smirk.

"Hello, Mrs. Queen." Malcolm said, stopping a respectful distance from the frightened woman and nod his head as a sign of respect.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Henri Ducard. A friend of your son's." Henri introduced with a bow. "He asked me to come because you needed help."

"Help?" she asked, baffled.

"With your trial." He explained to her growing horror. "You didn't think that Donner just happened to suffer a drug overdose and the jury acquitted you without a little persuasion, did you?"

She breathed. "What is it that you want with me, Mr. Ducard?"

He moved closer. "Nothing much, I'd simply like to talk about your daughter, Thea Queen. Though perhaps I should call her by her real name, Thea Merlyn." Moira's fear skyrocketed when she heard that. He knew the truth. And only God knows what he will do with it.

 **Chapter End**

 **This chapter was a bit boring because nothing really happens except the trial, though I did use it to set up a later plotpoint down the road.**

 **Try to guess who that was. And yes, Nathan doesn't actually know his true identity.**

 **Nathan's also plotting something with the Higher levels of government. You'll find out what that is later.**

 **I'm co-authoring a story with windstorm16, plus I have one more new one I'm adding here soon, and then I will update Ultraman.**


	28. The Scientist

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara McKenna(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth 0 Laurel, Earth 2 Laurel, McKenna(Eventually), Lena Luthor,**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Alex Danvers, Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Loise Lincoln aka Killer Frost, Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Evelyn Sharp, Dinah Drake, McKenna Hall, Harley Quinn,**

 **Can't make up my bloody mind: Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Amanda Waller, Eliza Danvers, Caitlin Snow, Isabel Rochev,**

 **Chapter 28: The Scientist**

 **Queen Consolidated**

 **Applied Science building**

As a storm brewed outside, two security guards were walking the floor. They were walking passed a loading bay door when it shook with a heavy impact. The two stopped and stared and soon the door was hit again. "What was that?" one of the guards asked the other. They watched as the door was struck again and again and, as it started to buckle, they drew their guns. One last hit sent one of the two doors to the ground and the guards opened fire.

Before them stood a man in a black, featureless mask. He ran forward, shrugging off bullets and punched one guard, sending the man flying into several barrels that toppled on top of him. The other guard tried to make a run for it but the man stopped him. He lifted the guard by his neck with one thick hand and squeezed, crushing his throat. Then he threw him head first into a heavy metal barrel, finishing him off. With no further resistance, the man walked on into the building, searching for his objective.

 **Next day**

Nathan, Moira and Lyla exited the elevator on the executive floor and were greeted by Helena.

"Mrs. Queen, welcome back to the company. I was really glad when the jury acquitted you." She said happily.

"Thank you." Moira said graciously.

"We still on for tonight?" Helena asked her boyfriend.

"You bet." Nathan said as he kissed her deeply before they moved on.

Inside the boardroom, Isabel was going over the latest projections with the rest of the board. "We need to drill down on these numbers before the earnings call." She looked up in surprise to see Moira enter with Nathan right behind her. "Nathan. I didn't realize your mother was stopping by for a visit today." She said.

"Well, it's not a visit." Nathan said, pulling out the chair to the left of the head of the table for Moira, and then sitting down in the chair at the head, reminding everyone who was in charge. "She has a place in this company, too."

"Of course." Isabel turned to Moira. "How are you, Moira?" she asked with forced pleasantness.

"Back, Isabel." She said firmly.

Isabel paused, and then turned back to Nathan. "Mr. Queen, may I speak to you for a minute?"

"After the meeting," Nathan dismissed callously, causing Isabel to grind her teeth.

"Now then, what's the feedback from the police on our ICER tech", Nathan asked the board.

"The police love it, sir," One board member says, "They have nothing but good things to say, and they recommend selling them to all police."

"Excellent. We'll begin making plans to start selling the tech to every police station in California, and if that goes well, we'll branch out to all the US."

After the meeting, Nathan and Isabel were out in his office. "What sort of message does it send to the investment committee, to the city, if we hand Queen Consolidated right back to your mother?" Isabel argued.

"She was acquitted. Besides, having a place on the board is hardly the same as making her CEO." Nathan pointed out.

"By a jury. Not by the city." She shot back. "Mr. Queen. Stop thinking like a son and start thinking like a CEO."

Nathan gritted his teeth and gripped her arm as she tried to walked away. "And you need to remember who is in charge. If you ever call a meeting without my permission again, stock ownership or not, I will throw you out on the street like the rat you are." He whispered, causing her eyes to widen.

He let her go but before he could go to his office, Lyla came into the office.

"Nathan. There's been a break-in." she informed him.

 **Starling City Train Station**

At the Starling City Train Station, a young man climbed off a train. He carried a heavy wheeled suitcase and tried to shield himself from the rain with the latest issue of Science Showcase that featured an article on the new particle accelerator. He looked at watch. "Damn!" he muttered, grasping the handle on his case and taking off at a brisk walk down the station.

 **Applied Sciences building**

Lyla and Nathan were looking at the wrecked door as Helena, Natasha and Daisy stood behind them.

"This door was made of expanded reinforced titanium." Lyla noted. She turned to Officer McKenna, who was one of the cops working the scene. "What did they use to do this?"

"Not sure yet." McKenna said. "No sign of any explosives. Could have been a crane, maybe a forklift." She walked around the scene. "I'm guessing there was at least three of them, maybe four. And given how quick they got in and out of here- they were fast." She guessed.

Outside the train station, the young man tried to flag down a taxi, who took off anyway. "Whoa, hey, stop, wait!" he shouted after the cab. "You don't even have a fare!" He sighed and stated walking again, then stopped as another passing car sent up a large plume of water, drenching him.

Back at the Applied Sciences building, McKenna was started asking questions. "Any idea what these guys were so hot to break in here for?" she looked at Nathan.

"This is what we're able to pull off the security cameras." Kelton said, coming up to the group and pulling up the video on his tablet. The clip showed the man in the mask killing the two guards, and then the man picked up a box and flung it at the camera, taking it out. "He was the only guy we got on video. The rest of the crew must have come in after him."

Nathan stared at the video and muttered to himself as his eyes widened, "No, it couldn't be."

"Actually, it was only one guy." They all turned to see the young man from the train, who was examining the scene. "Ah, sorry I'm late. But actually, my train was late. Well, the second one. The first one I did miss, but that was my cab driver's fault. I've got this great traffic app, and… but he thought that he was right. I'm here now, though. So…." He babbled.

"Great." McKenna said dryly. "Who the are you?"

"It's okay," Nathan said as he walked over and shook Barry's hand. "He's a friend."

"It's good to see you, Nathan." Barry said as he turned to the rest of the people gathered.

"I'm Barry Allen." He said, pulling his ID out of his jacket and showing it to them. "I'm from the Central City police department." He explained. "I'm with the crime scene investigation unit. We're working on a case with some similar unexplained elements in Central City, so when the report of your robbery came over the wire, my captain sent me up here."

"And you think one guy ripped through this door like it was tin foil?" McKenna said skeptically.

' _God, I really hope not. Because if it's not kryptonians, it's could only be_ _ **that.'**_ Nathan thought in apprehension.

"One very strong guy, yeah." Barry replied. Nathan looked off, suddenly lost in a memory. "Uh, it takes about 1,250 foot pounds of torque to break someone's neck." He pulled up the autopsy photos of one of the guard and showed it to them. It showed the man from the shoulders up, focusing on the bruising of the neck. "You see the marks on the guard's neck? The bruising pattern suggests the killer used only one hand. I'm guessing you don't know how hard it is to break someone's neck." He said to Nathan.

"Hmm?" he looked up, his mind having been in the past briefly. "No. No idea." He lied.

"Uh, we're going to need a list of the entire inventory here to figure out exactly what was stolen." Kelton began.

"Actually, I think I know what was stolen." Barry put in. "A centrifuge. An industrial centrifuge. Probably the Cord Enterprises 2BX 900. Maybe the six series." He led them to a concrete base, on which something had been attached and was no longer. "Both have a three column base. Here, you can see the three sets of broken bolts where the thief just ripped it out of the ground."

"And what exactly is a centrifuge?" Kelton asked.

"It separates liquids." Nathan explained.

"The centripetal acceleration causes denser substances to separate out along the radial direction." Daisy added, causing her friends to look at her. "What? I took chemistry in college."

"And lighter objects move to the top." Barry added.

Daisy smiled at the scientist. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Barry. Allen."

"Daisy. Johnson." She said, introducing herself.

Nathan gave the younger man a look, so he continued with his analysis. "Um, you can see the cracks heading towards the door." He stated, pointing to the footprints embedded in the floor. "Footsteps. One guy." He stood. "Anyway, it's just a theory. One backed by a lot of evidence." He added.

"There has to be another explanation." McKenna protested.

"Yeah. I'm sure you're right." Barry said to placate the cop.

As Nathan knelt down besides the base to examine it more closely, his mind traveled to past.

 _ **Five years ago**_

 _The four castaways trudged through the forest, moving towards the coordinates on the Hozen. Shado took point, Sara brought up the rear, and Nathan helped the injured Slade move down the steep incline they were on._

 _"We need to change directions." Slade said with a groan._

 _"You need to rest." Nathan countered._

 _"If Ivo and any of his men survived that blast, they'll be tracking us. We keep moving." Slade said determinedly. Then he stepped over a tree branch and dropped several inches. The impact, slight as it was, hurt him tremendously. "Five minutes." He gasped reluctantly._

 _Nathan helped him sit on a rotted stump. "You watch him, please." He asked of Sara._

 _"Of course." She said._

 _Nathan walked over to Shado, holding her close to him as they rested their foreheads against each other. "Do you believe them?" she asked of him. "That this Hosen will lead us to a wrecked Japanese sub?"_

 _"That bastard Ivo seemed to believe it," Nathan pointed out. "I just hope whatever miracle serum they're after is actually onboard." He looked back at Slade. "For his sake."_

" _Listen," Nathan said as he and Shado stared into each others eyes. "I know you're probably not that comfortable with Sara around. But I could_ _ **NOT**_ _leave her. I saw how much Ivo had brainwashed her and I just couldn't leave her to whatever sick twisted thing he was planning."_

" _Thank you for your concern, my love, but I am alright." She said as they shared a tender kiss. Slade and Sara looked uncomfortable at the display. "I know you are not as your brother was. And you are better than you were when you crashed here. I trust you."_

" _I'm glad to here it." He said as he drew her back in and they kissed again._

 _Slade staggered over, rested enough of the moment. "I feel like taking a walk." He said with forced levity, throwing an arm over Shado's shoulders to help support himself. "Anyone care to join me?"_

 _The two started walking again. Sara paused next to Nathan. "I guess a lot's happened in the last year." She noted before following._

 **Present**

In Queen Consolidated, Nathan was staring out of the window as the rain fell, his mind deep in thought.

Helena walked up behind him and hugged him. "Babe, are you alright?"

"A little better, now that you're here." He admitted, making her smile. "I'm just really concerned about this. It will be bad if it's Kryptonians and if it's not, I can only think of one other thing."

"Nathan." He looked over to see Lyla and Daisy coming into his office. He slipped out of Helena's arms. "Got the final inventory from applied sciences." Lyla said. "That CSI friend of yours from Central City was right. The only thing missing is a centrifuge." She handed him the inventory.

"You need to see this." Natasha said a moment later. She walked over and showed her tablet to them. "I pulled up CC traffic camera footage from across the street of applied sciences. This is three minutes after the alarm went off." She played the video, and they watched as the mask man carried the two-ton centrifuge on his shoulder to a waiting van.

They noticed Nathan gripping the desk, and said desk was beginning to crack. The other's noticed and were wary.

Nathan looked up to see Barry Allen out in the waiting area, ripping off a part of his desk without realizing it. "Hey, man. Need something?" he asked.

"Yeah uh, where should I set up my equipment?" he asked. He then noticed Nathan was holding a piece of his desk. "You need a new desk?"

"Hmm?" Nate asked only to then realize he had ripped off a piece of his desk as he tossed it behind him. "Oh yeah, it's falling apart at the seems."

Nathan looked at Daisy and she got the message. "I'll show you." Daisy offered.

"What's going on?" Lyla asked, thoroughly confused.

"Nate said that he preferred to keep the investigation in house, so I cleared it with my captain to give him a hand." Barry explained.

Nathan smiled at the man, but was taken by the elbow by Lyla and Natasha and led him closer to the window. "What are you doing?" Lyla asked him quietly.

"We need to find this intruder." He said. "While I'm good as far as forensic science goes, he's better, so I'd say we need him." he added.

Natasha had a blank look on her face. "I just hope he doesn't accidently discover your identity."

"Not by looking around here, he won't. It's not like I keep my mask in my desk." Nathan said dryly.

Daisy smiled, and then walked over to Barry. "I'll show you around." She offered.

"Why am I getting the feeling you know more about this than your friend?" Lyla asked after the other two had left.

"Pray I'm wrong." He said simply.

 **Queen Manor**

 **Nightime**

Moira was in the parlor, looking at a picture of a younger Thea when Nathan walked in.

"Hi." He said. "I'm sorry about what happened at the office this morning."

"There are a lot of people who think I got away with murder, Nathan." Moira noted, putting the picture back. "Maybe I did."

"Mom, the trial, the Undertaking, Malcolm Merlyn, all of that is behind us now." Nathan told her. "And we need everyone to see that."

"How are we going to do that?" she asked skeptically.

"We throw a party." He said decisively.

Before she could say no, two more people joined them. "Thea. Roy." She said, greeting them in turn.

"Did I hear you guys say something about a party?" Thea asked.

"A welcome back to Queen Consolidated party for mom." Nathan said.

"I don't think so." Moira started to protest.

"If things are going to get back to normal, then we need to start acting normal." Nathan argued. "Normal for us is a lavish party."

Roy's phone beeped, so he pulled it out to look at it. He sighed. "Oh. I'm sorry, Mrs. Queen, I can't stay for brunch." He apologized.

"I guess we got to go." Thea said, kissing her mother on the cheek. "Bye." The two walked out under Nathan's watchful eye. After they had gone, he looked back at his mother and smiled.

"I'll take care of everything." He promised.

 **Applied Sciences Building**

Barry was setting up a ring of ultraviolet lights around the base of the stolen centrifuge as Daisy and Natasha looked on.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Daisy asked.

"Your thief's shoes touched the ground, which means he tracked in dozens of clues as to where he's been the past few days." He explained from the floor as he examined the footprint from all angles. He smiled and pulled out a pair of tweezers. "Got ya." He said. He snagged the small pit of evidence with the tweezers and stood, walking over to the mass spectrum analyzer. He grinned at Daisy as he put the evidence in the machine and closed the tray. "Shouldn't take long." He told her.

Daisy moved over to the monitor to watch as the picture of the evidence started to appear on the screen, along with the chemical makeup.

"So you've seen him, right?" Barry asked Natasha. "The vigilante they call Prometheus? I read that he might have come after you." He said offhandedly. "What was he like?"

Natasha shrugged and said, "He's dark, wears all black, and modulates his voice."

"Black." Barry said excitedly. "Black is better for stealth, and urban camouflage. And the voice modulation definitely works for protecting his identity."

"Though I have to wonder, why the arrows? Me, personally," he continued as Daisy did her best not to make eye contact, "I think that he trained in some sort of like forest or jungle environment, and his weapon of choice is a nod to that."

"I don't give the vigilante much thought." She said, walking around the table and turning off the UV lights. Natasha walked over to her and whispered, "Deep Breathes, it'll slow your heart rate". Daisy a took a deep breath try to calm down.

"Police reports show that he uses carbon arrows, but if he switched to an aluminum carbon composite, he would have far better penetration." Barry continued, oblivious to Daisy's nervousness.

"I have feeling he thinks his arrow's penetration is just fine, given all the bodies he's dropped." Natasha quipped.

"Do you want to know something else?" Barry asked. "I think that he has partners. Definitely someone with a background in computer sciences."

"Yeah." Daisy moved back in front of the computer. She looked at him askance. "Why are you so interested in Prometheus?" she asked.

Barry exhaled heavily, his excitement gone in a flash. "When I was 11, my mom was murdered."

"I'm so sorry." Daisy and Natasha said at once.

"They never caught the guy who did it." Barry said, having told this story to Nathan, and he was probably the only one who believed him. "Maybe he would have." The computer beeped, snapping Barry back into scientist mode. He stared at the results on the screen. "The soil…there's a crystalline structure in it." He squinted. "That's weird." He said after a moment.

"What's weird?" she asked.

"It's sugar." Barry stated curiously.

 **Verdant**

 **Later**

It was already night by the time Roy and Thea were finally able to meet up with Sin.

"Sin, you said this was an emergency." Roy started.

Sin looked askew at Thea. "No offense, but Thea, you shouldn't be here." She said bluntly.

"In the alleyway of the club I own?" Thea replied sarcastically.

Sin sighed. "It's my friend Max." she began. "He's missing. I haven't seen him for a week, no one has. Something happened to him." She looked at him significantly. "I figured you knew someone who could help." She said.

Roy was frozen, he most DEFINITELY couldn't reveal to Thea that he was informing for Prometheus. Fortunately, Thea saved him.

"Roy can help you." She said confidently.

He glanced over at his girlfriend, puzzled. "I thought you wanted me to stay out of trouble." He said pointedly.

"I kind of like that you never turn away from someone who needs help." She said, clapping him on the shoulder. "I'll just get someone to cover the club." She said, heading towards the back entrance.

"What do you mean?" Roy said at once.

She glanced back at him. "Oh, I'm coming with you." She said, smirking.

She headed back into the club, and Roy gave Sin a look. The other girl just shrugged her shoulders.

 **Applied Sciences**

 **Later**

"You found something?" Nathan asked as he, Helena, and Lyla walked in.

"We found something." Daisy clarified, looking to Barry.

"There were trace amounts of sucrose and a spec of dirt the killer dragged in here on his boot." Barry revealed.

"Which got me thinking." Daisy continued. "There is a sugar refinery two miles from here. The land around it is suffused in waste sugar. So I checked. They had a delivery truck stolen a few days ago."

"Their truck matches the make and model of the truck the thief used to steal the centrifuge." Barry added.

"Can you track the vehicle?" Nathan asked.

"We've been trying." Daisy started, but was cut off when her computer beeped. She looked at it in astonishment.

"What was that?" Nathan asked.

"You're not going to believe this." Daisy said. "That truck, it was just used to rob a blood bank."

The feeling of dread in Nathan's stomach grew. "What? Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah." Natasha confirmed. "Our guy just made off with 30,000 cc's of O-negative."

"We should give this information to the local police." Barry said, slightly confused by the dynamic in play.

"I'll take care of that." Nathan said. He gave Barry a look. "Did you say that you were working a similar case in Central City, Barry?"

Barry blanched slightly. "Oh, yeah, um…" he stammered. "Yeah, you know, it's similar. Has similar elements. A lot of similarities. Right. Yeah." He finished lamely.

Nathan smiled at him, then his face turned to a glare after he left and grabbed his stuff.

"Stay here!" He ordered the women in the room.

 **10 minutes later**

A speeding sugar deliver truck that was loaded down with stolen blood and missing the driver's side door was driving down through the street. The man was wearing a mask and saw something was running toward him. Too late did he realize it was Prometheus as the dark vigilante unleashed a double flying kick that broke through the windshield, kicking Cyrus Gold through the back end of the truck and onto the pavement, the truck skidding to a stop. Prometheus rolled to a landing on one knee and looked up slowly, watching Cyrus gold struggle to get up as he walked around him in circle, like a wolf stalking his prey.

Cyrus eventually got up and rushed Prometheus, throwing a punch that Prometheus caught, holding him there. Prometheus confirmed that this guy definitely had Mirakuru, as Kryptonians hit much harder. " **Who gave you Mirakuru? WHO!?"**

Cyrus did not answer and tried to hit him again. Nathan pulled out his chokuto and in a flourish of swordplay, sever Cyrus's achilles tendon, and chop off both his arms. Cyrus dropped to his knees and Nathan appeared behind him, sword placed against Cyrus's throat. " **I'm gonna ask one more time. WHO GAVE YOU MIRAKURU!?"**

"I'm not talking!" Cyrus gasped out.

" **Fine, you can talk to the Reaper."** Nathan said as he gripped the sword and pulled it toward him, cutting off Cyrus's head in the process. Nathan gathered up the body parts and threw them in a bag. He didn't want Waller getting her hands on this.

Before he left though he dumped all the stolen blood into the sewer and fired an explosive arrow at the truck, blowing it up. He didn't want to do that, but this way, whoever was did steal the blood, couldn't steal it again.

 **Lair**

 **Afterward**

Nathan walked into the Arrow lair with the body bag and dropped it on the table. "Um, what is that?" Daisy asked.

"It's probably the body of our mystery super-human." Natasha guessed.

Daisy touched the bag and felt a squishy feeling. Realizing what it was, she recoiled in disgust. "Ew!"

Nathan pulled his mask off and leaned on the table. Helena squeezed his hand gently which he appreciated.

He let out a breath. "I have not been completely honest. I know much more about this than I was letting on." Nathan admitted to Skye. "I've seen men with abilities like that before."

"You have?" Daisy asked. "Where?"

"The island." He said tiredly. "My second year marooned there, we- I came across the remains of a Japanese World War II military project." Nathan explained. "It was a serum designed to create Super Soldiers."

"Super Soldiers." Daisy said. "My God, what's next, aliens?" Nathan gave her a pointed look. "Seriously!? There are aliens too?"

"This is real, Skye." Nathan said sharply. "Those five years that I was away, I came across things that just defy explanation." He sighed. "There's a doctor, his name is Ivo, and he came to the island to test the serum on people. The ones that survived, their endurance, reflexes and strength were all enhanced."

"You think Ivo's in Starling City?" Lyla asked.

"He's 100% dead. I would know. I killed him myself." Nathan said confidently. "And so is everyone that he injected with the serum. The last of which I burned."

"You think someone found the recipe and is trying to replicate it." Natasha surmised.

"The centrifuge and a large supply of blood would have been a dead give-away." Helena stated. "Someone wants to make more."

Daisy sighed sadly. "Why couldn't you have been marooned on Aruba?" she muttered.

"Well, probably a good thing I wasn't." Nathan said as he walked over a stand-alone concrete wall he used for target practice. "Otherwise I wouldn't be able to do this." He punched right the concrete and pulled his arm out, uninjured.

He picked up a brick and held it in his hands, "The same stuff that this guy had in his system, runs in mine." He said, looking back at them with his Kyuubified eyes, as he crushed the brick into dust.

Daisy was shocked as she had no idea Nathan had these powers. Natasha masked her shock well and filed it away for later. Now she understood why Waller thought she couldn't kill him if push came to shove.

Nathan walked up to the bag and stuck a needle in Cyrus's severed neck, causing Skye to cringe in disgust. He put the blood in a vial and handed it to Skye. "I need you to figure out who this is so I can figure out if there are anymore running around."

"Barry and I will get right on it." Daisy said, walking off.

"I think our Miss Johnson is smitten." Lyla noted.

"That's good. Barry needs a girlfriend that isn't his adoptive sister." Nathan said with a smile.

 _ **Five years ago-**_

 _The four continued their trek through the wilderness. As they came down a steep incline, Shado looked back at Slade with concern._

 _"How are you holding up?" she asked, noting his labored breathing._

 _"I could do with a better looking crutch." He joked, referring to Nathan._

 _They started moving again._

 _"We're here." Shado announced suddenly. They stopped at the top of a steep cliff. Down below was a lagoon that must have fed into the ocean- because sitting near the middle up against a rocky outcropping was an ancient Japanese submarine._

 _ **Flashback end**_

 **Present**

In the Applied Science's building, Barry was climbing the shelves looking at the setup in horror. "They have nitric acid next to hydrazine? Permanganates on top of acetone? This is the definition of dangerous." He exclaimed.

"If it's so dangerous, maybe you shouldn't be touching them." Daisy noted. Thunder cracked overhead, and Barry glanced up at the ceiling. "Barry." She said, getting his attention back. "I managed to get a sample of the perpetrator's blood from the police department. We need to isolate a sedative in the blood." She told him a she prepped the blood. "It could lead us to the thief."

"How did the police get it?" Barry asked.

"Apparently Prometheus shot him and he bleed all over the pavement." Daisy said offhandedly.

"You're kidding." He climbed down from the shelves and ran back over to the examination table. "You know what this means, right?" he asked excitedly. "This means Prometheus is working the same case we are! Heh." He chuckled. "Go figure. How did you get it?" he asked her.

"Nathan has a lot of connections." Daisy replied casually.

Barry chuckled again. "Wow. Pays to work for a billionaire." He noted.

"Actually, I'm IT, so my take home's nothing special." Daisy said. "Especially given I am rarely at home, since I'm with him every night."

"Ah." Barry deflated slightly. "Well, I didn't realize you and he were…"

"Oh, no. I didn't mean like that." she quickly denied. "Work. He and I are not, no," she shook her head. "I do not like him like that." She said firmly.

Barry smiled and turned back to the shelves. "Um, I was invited to a work function." She continued nervously, causing him to turn back to her. "It's a party. And I don't have a plus-one. I was thinking you would make a really good plus one." She asked.

He smiled warmly at her, and then looked momentarily panicked. "There's not going to be dancing, is there?" he asked worriedly. "I'm not just not too good on my feet."

Daisy just smiled.

 **Glades**

 **Next Day**

Sin let herself, Roy and Thea into her friends' small apartment.

"Ohh." Thea gagged, covering her nose. "It reeks in here." She looked around at the dozens of paintings- on the floor, on the wall, some still on easels. All of them showed an eerily familiar interpretation of Brother Blood's skull mask.

"I guess your friend wasn't too into painting seascapes." She quipped.

Sin picked up a pizza box with a few fuzzy pieces still in it. She grimaced and put the box back down, closing the lid.

Roy looked around, scouting for clues. Looking down on a chair, he noticed an advert for a blood drive sponsored by Sebastian Blood.

"Max is like any starving artist- starving." Sin said. "But I could always crash here when I didn't have a place to stay."

"Hey, this blood drive was a week ago." Roy said, holding up the pamphlet. "When did you say he went missing?"

Sin looked at the ad. "That day." She said.

Outside, Officer Daily was seated in his police cruiser, parked just down the street that faced the building. He noted with interest as the three left the building. He picked up his phone and hit the number one speed dial. "It's Daily. Someone's looking for Maxwell Stanton." He said into the phone.

 **"And they should find him."** Blood replied.

"Yes, Brother Blood." Daily said, and then hung up.

Turning off the phone, Sebastian was having a mental breakdown. "NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He shouted as he starting breaking and destroying his stuff. Cyrus Gold was dead. His best friend from the orphanage and his first successful test subject in recreating the Mirakuru. His body also wasn't found and the blood Cyrus stole had been dumped into the sewer, making it completely unusable.

After calming down, Sebastian got a call. Looking at his phone, his skin turned ghost white as he saw who it was. "Hello?" he said as he picked it up.

"You disappoint me, Mr. Blood," came the Aussie voice on the other end. "you let your only successful test subject be killed by Prometheus and lost the blood to make more."

"Y-Yes, and I'm sorry for that Mr. Slade, but I have th-the-" Sebastien tried to explain but was interrupted.

"Do not fucking attempt lie." Slade warned. "Fortunately for you, I have sent some additional backup and sample of O-Negative for you. They should be there right now."

Sebastien looked behind him to see six men, one of them holding a blood bag. "Let's see how Prometheus handles 6 Super Soldiers." Slade said as Sebastien smirked darkly.

 **QC**

Daisy and Barry were at her desk watching the latest news report about the particle accelerator.

'…Central City is just a day away from making history when the controversial S.T.A.R. Lab's particle accelerator is finally turned on.'

"Pretty cool, right?" Barry asked excitedly.

"You know there's been a hundred percent increase in earthquakes since they've turned on the Large Hadron Collider." Daisy teased.

"That data is misleading." Barry started to argue.

"Oh, do tell." Daisy said with a laugh.

"Hey Barry," They both turned to the doorway to see Nathan leaning on the door. "I need to speak with you for a moment. I promise, this will only take a minute."

"Guess I'll be back in a bit." Daisy said to Barry, who smiled, as she walked out door.

"Hey man, what's up?" Barry asked and Nate looked at him.

"Do you have it?" He asked and Barry got a serious look in his face.

"Yeah, I got it right here." Barry said as he pulled out a manilla envelope. Nate took it in his hands, holding it very lightly. This was the favor he had asked of Barry a few weeks back.

"Thanks man," Nate said as he walked away and let Daisy come back in.

 **Nate's Apartment**

 **That night**

Nate was standing by his counter in his dress suit while Helena and Lyla ready. He was staring at the packet that Barry it contained the favor he asked him to do. He picked it picked and flipped it over. His hand gingerly broke the seal and opened it part way.

Before he stopped and put it back on the counter. He closed his eyes a took an unsteady breath.

"No," He muttered as he put it in his kitchen drawer. "I can't look at that right now."

 **Queen Manor**

The three Queens walked down the stairs into through the foyer an into—

The almost empty parlor.

There was a three string orchestra playing classical music, there was a bar set up to serve drinks, and there was about six people in the large room.

"I guess these days; I only draw a crowd when I'm on trial for murder." Moira said glibly.

Thea's face fell; Nathan's was set in stone. Thea put a hand on her mother's arm. "Mom, you don't have to—"

"We have guests." Moira said, smiling determinedly. "However, few of them there are." She walked in and began to greet the few people who had arrived.

Thea stepped over to her brother. "This is not your fault, Nate." She whispered to him as she walked into the room. She saw Roy, once again dressed in a sharp suit, and moved over to him.

"How's your mom doing?" he asked.

She forced a smile. "Oh, you know us Queen women- nothing gets to us." She said.

"You must take after your dad." Roy quipped, and Thea chuckled.

He frowned as his phone rang. "Sorry." He said to Thea as he answered the phone. "Sin. What's up?"

Down in the Glades, Sin was looking at the ground in front of a chain linked fence. "I found Max."

Back at the party, Roy frowned. "Where?" he asked. His frown deepened. "I'm on my way." He hung up.

"They find Max?" Thea asked.

"Um, no." he lied. "She just wants me to stop by."

"I can come with you." Thea offered hopefully.

"You should stay here. Your mom needs you." He told her truthfully. He kissed her on the cheek. "Ok, I'll call you later." Thea sighed as he walked off, and then moved on to mingle.

Nathan walked up to Helena. "May I have this dance?" He offered.

"You may, lover boy," Helena said as she offered her hand and he guided her onto the dance floor.

Daisy was just standing there, trying to not looked bored for Nathan's sake. Daisy turned around, and was surprised to see Barry Allen standing there.

"Hi." Barry said as he came up to her.

"Hi." She said with a smile.

"I was serious about not being able to dance." He told her. "But I'll hold your hands and sway."

Daisy chuckled. "Sold." She said, beaming. They awkwardly came together and started swaying to the music.

Then he stepped on her foot.

"Sorry." He said, and they both chuckled.

Nathan walked up to the bar after his dance to get a drink for himself and Helena, where he found Isabel, nursing a shot a vodka.

"I tried to warn you." She said.

"I ignored you." He replied. She drank her shot. Across the room, Moira watched them, concerned.

"I am sorry, Nathan." Isabel told him, sounding sincere as he got his drinks.

Nathan nodded. "Yeah." He turned and walked back out into the room to give Helena her drink, passing his mother as she headed towards the bar.

"Nathan threw you a lovely party." Isabel told her.

"Nathan's a good and dutiful son," Moira replied with a smile as she picked up a fresh glass of champagne. "If not the best judge of character." Her smile at Isabel could freeze fire. Isabel smiled back, absolutely predatory.

Sensing the tension, Nathan headed back over. "Is everything ok?" he asked.

Isabel's smile widened. "Everything's going perfectly." She said, turning to go back out onto the floor.

 ** _Five years ago-_**

 _The four castaways climbed down the sail into the interior of the sub. Shado and Nathan went in first. Slade made it halfway down, but his remaining strength finally failed him and he slid down the ladder and hit the deck hard. Nathan grabbed him and helped move him into the next compartment as Sara made her way down. Nathan helped Slade sit down as Shado and Sara started looking for the Mirakuru._

 _Shado looked at Slade in worry. "He doesn't have long." She said plaintively._

 _"If this miracle drug is onboard, then we need to find it now." Nathan said. He looked at his friend. "Slade, be back in a few minutes, ok?"_

 _"I'll just get comfortable." Slade gasped._

 _"Come on." Nathan urged. The three made their way into the next compartment, but found nothing. They opened the hatch to the following compartment, entering what appeared to be a rudimentary sick bay. Shado shined her light around the compartment for a moment before the beam fell on a small wooden crate on the floor._

 _"There." She said. She dropped to the floor and opened the crate. Inside was sectioned off into several smaller compartments, and reaching in to one, she withdrew a syringe, its needle sealed with a cork, containing a greenish liquid._

 _"Mirakuru." She announced._

 _"I was never sure it was real." Sara admitted._

 _"What happens if we give it to Slade?" Nathan asked her._

 _"He needs a sedative in his bloodstream first." She said._

 _Shado jumped up and started going through the cabinets. "They might have potassium bromide or barbital." She said. She moved to the opposite cabinets and rooted around. "Ohh." She withdrew a broken glass bottle. "It's empty." She said, dejected._

 _"What happens if we give it to him without the sedative?" Nathan asked. "Sara!" he urged when she didn't reply immediately._

 _"He'll die, for sure." She said sadly._

 _"He's going to die anyway." Shado said. Shado then noticed a a syringe of Mirakuru that was red. She read the label and it said, "Miracle Version 2", when translated._

 _Suddenly there was a loud clanging sound. They all looked up in alarm. "What was that?" Shado asked. None of the other three saw Shado pocket away the upgraded Mirakuru._

 _"Ivo and his men." Sara said in dread. "They're on the sub."_

 **Flashback End**

Moira stood in the now empty ballroom, staring out at the grounds.

She turned just as Thea and Nathan walked in.

"Thank you for tonight, Nathan. It was a lovely party." She said warmly.

Nathan sighed. "I'm so sorry that I put you through that." He started. She cut him off.

"Oh, listen, I don't care what anyone else in this city thinks of me." Moira told them sincerely. "I only care what you two think."

Nathan's phone started to ring. He looked at the face and saw Daisy's picture. He smiled at his mother. "And I have to get back to the office." He said ruefully. "Excuse me." He walked off, answering the phone. Thea turned to follow him out when Moira's voice stopped her.

"Thea." Moira said, causing the younger girl to turn back. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Sure. What is it?" she asked.

Moira walked up to her daughter. She thought about telling her, she started to tell her- but in the end, she just couldn't. "I love you." She said instead, pulling her in for a hug.

Thea smiled at her. "I love you, too." she replied. She turned and walked out of the ballroom, leaving Moira alone with her thoughts.

 **Applied Sciences Building**

Barry was on the phone with his furious boss, trying desperately not to be fired.

"Yes." He was saying as Daisy worked on the computer, looking up every few moments in concern. "Yes, sir. I- yes, director, I know that this is not the first time. Yes, sir, I do value my job, very much." He assured the man. "Look, I will be on the next train. Mm-hmm. I'll be back tonight. Ok. Thank—" the other man hung up first. Barry sighed. "Well, my boss found out I don't have food poisoning. I need to get back to Central City if I still want to be employed. Which I do." He grabbed his bag and threw the strap over his shoulder before grabbing the handle of the suitcase. "Tell the SCPD that the sedative in the thief, Cyrus Gold's, blood is Ketamine." He told Daisy. "It's a schedule three controlled substance. It shouldn't be too hard to track."

"Yeah, I'll make sure they get it." Daisy said. "Thank you."

"It was really nice—"Barry started.

"Thank you for—" Daisy said at the same time.

"- working with you." Barry finished after a moment.

"-everything, We couldn't have done it—" Daisy said at the same time again. She paused.

"Without you." She finished. They both chuckled.

Barry stared at Daisy for a few moments, and Daisy thought he would make a move. Instead, he smiled warmly at her. "Good-bye, Daisy." Barry said.

"Good-bye." She said, watching him walk out with a wistful smile.

 **Glades**

Roy arrived as the cops were manhandling Sin, trying to force her behind the barricade.

"Max! Get off, let go!" she was screaming in anger. "Max! Get off of me!"

"Hey! Let her go." Roy demanded. "Cut it out!" The cops practically shoved her at him before stalking off.

"Stupid cops." Sin snarled. "They're saying Max OD'ed."she told Roy.

"Was he using?" he asked.

"No!" she said hotly. "He made extra cash donating blood. You really think the hospital would let him be a donor if he was an addict?" she asked.

Roy glanced around; all of the cops were busy elsewhere. He quickly slipped past the barricades and ran over to the body, taking out his phone and taking a quick picture. He noted the bloody tears running down his cheeks as he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Hey." A cop said as Roy moved back towards the barricade. "Can't be here, kid."

Roy grabbed Sin's arm. "Let's go. He said, placing his arm around her shoulder and leading her out of there quickly. Officer Daily stood there and watched them leave.

 **Lair**

"They found trace amounts of Ketamine in the thief's blood. The man's name was Cyrus Gold." Daisy told Nathan, Helena, Natasha and Lyla as she walked in and headed for her computers. "It's a common surgical anesthesia derived from hydrochloric salt."

"Where was he hiding?" Nathan asked.

Daisy started running a search on the computer. "With the current concentration ratio in the blood sample, there's only one possible location with a large enough quality of the sedative that correlates with the amount of blood the stolen centrifuge can process." She pulled up an image on the screen.

Helena leaned in, frowning. "What is it? There's no sign." She said.

"A.R.G.U.S. doesn't like to advertise." Lyla said. "It's a disaster bunker. Right on the edge of the Glades. A.R.G.U.S. has them all over the country. They store relief supplies- food, clothing…"

"Medicine." Natasha finished.

"I'm on my way." Nathan said, walking over to the weapon's case and picking up his bow.

"Nathan," Natasha said. "I know you have powers, but whoever is trying to make more might be expecting you. It could be a trap."

A phone buzzed, and Lyla glanced at the table. "Nathan." She said. Nathan looked at the phone, which was the phone he gave to Roy.

"Stay here," He told them as he dressed quickly. Helena was not happy about being sidelined again.

"Nathan. You can't ask us to-" That was when she was interrupted.

" **I SAID STAY HERE!"** He yelled at them all as he rounded on them with his Kyuubified eyes, causing them all to step back, before quickly leaving.

Helena stood there in silence. "It's just like last year." She finally said.

"Last Year?" Natasha asked.

"When-" Helena stopped and took a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing, "When he discovered his mother might have been a part of his father death, he didn't think clearly and almost got discovered. But this time it's worse."

"How bad is it?" Daisy asked.

"Scale of 1 to 10. Last time was a 3. This time it's a 15." Helena said. The two newcomers absorbed the info before Helena made to grab her huntress suit.

"Helena, you heard what he said." Daisy said.

"I know what he said, but last time, he almost didn't walk away. I don't care if he's angry, he's going to have some back up." She said. Her tone leaving zero room for argument.

"Before you fly off the handle as well, let me make a call." Lyla said, pulling out her phone.

"What? Do you have another Super Soldier on speed dial?" Natasha asked.

"Someone better," Lyla said, and Helena realized who she was calling. "Yeah. Kara? It's Lyla. I think Nate's in trouble."

 _ **Flashback**_

 _ **Five years ago**_

 _As Sara battened down the hatches, Nathan and Shado knelt in front of Slade. Nathan held up the syringe. "Now thi-, it could save you; or it could kill you."_

 _"By the looks on your faces, I'm going to die anyway." Slade gasped. He reached out and grasped both Shado's and Nathan's hands._

 _"Sorry." He rasped._

 _"For what?" she asked._

 _"For being jealous of you and Nate, and what you two have." He admitted, shocking Shado as she had no idea. "I-cough- was jealous of the fact that you two were so happy with one another, and I got my feelings mixed up."_

" _If I don't survive, I want you to know. Shado, you are, without a doubt, the daughter I always wanted to have." He admitted, Shado put her hand on her mouth to cover her shock._

" _Nathaniel," Slade said, "You've come a long way from the kid that stumbled into my plane. I'm happy for you and Shado. And I'm-cough- happy, to have called you my brother."_

" _Slade," Nathan said sadly, unable to contain his sorrow at the heartfelt words of what might be Slade's final words._

 _He looked up at Nathan. "Do it." He ordered._

 _Nathan dropped down, pulled the cork off of the needle, and plunged it into Slade's leg. He injected the Mirakuru, and then withdrew the needle. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then suddenly, Slade began to twitch, then spasm. He threw his head back and screamed in pain, and Nathan and Shado both tried to hold him down as bloody tears started to fall…_

 **Flashback End**

 **Present**

Roy was pacing in the alley when Prometheus finally arrived. **"What?"** the vigilante growled shortly.

"I need your help." Roy said. "A friend of mine's friend, well, the cops think he OD'ed, but we think he was murdered."

 **"Why?"**

"Well, he wasn't an addict, for starters." Roy said, and then showed him the picture on his phone- Max, dead on the street, with bloody tears. "And this… this doesn't look like any OD I've ever seen."

Nathan looked at the picture in horror. **"Stay away from that."** He ordered.

"You know something?" Roy asked. "What happened to him?" Prometheus remained silent, so Roy exploded. "You're the one who told me to be your eyes and ears on the streets. You know what, that is not good enough for me anymore!"

 **"Fine."** Nathan ground out. **"Then we're done altogether."** He started to walk away.

"I don't need you! I have friends that can help me." He yelled at his back. "You can't stop us." Roy turned and started walking down the alley.

 **"Fool."** Nathan growled. He spun, drew an arrow and fired, hitting Roy in the leg. He then turned and walked off, leaving Roy wounded and bleeding in the alley. " **Trust me, kid. I'm saving your life."**

 **The Depot**

Nathan walked in, warily looking around. Hearing a noise, he glanced behind him- and barely dodged a large crate that was thrown into the shelves he had been standing in front of. He looked up and spotted a man and started shooting arrow at him. The man jumped down from the high catwalk, landing in front of Nathan. He swung with a wild haymaker that the vigilante ducked under. As Prometheus came up, he fired a cable arrow that wound a strong steel cable around The man's neck and the support pole behind him, binding the man and holding him there. Prometheus fired 3 more arrows into his gut.

 **"Who are you?"** Prometheus demanded.

"Merely a follower." He replied.

 **"Of who?! "**

"My brother." The man said.

 **"Did he give you the Mirakuru? Did he inject you with it?!"** Nathan demanded hotly.

"No. He saved me with it. Just like they are about to." Nathan's eyes widened as he turned behind him, blocking with his bow, as a double axe-handle snapped it in two and caused him to skid away. As his skidded to a stop, he pulled out his chokuto as all five super soldiers appeared before him.

" **I'll kill every last ONE OF YOU!"** Prometheus roared, his anger and fury at what happened because of the Mirakuru blinding him with rage, as he charged the five super soldiers.

They charged him as well, but he had the Mirakuru for 5 years and they only had it for 5 days. He was faster and stronger and knocked the middle one flying into the rafters.

Nathan spun and slashed with all his might that he decapitated one of the four. He sliced the other three in the chest before stabbing one in the stomach. He tried to pull it out, but the Mirakuru super soldier grabbed the sword and broke it. Nathan was hit with a haymaker but did not feel it as he pulled out an arrow and stabbed him through the chest. He was shoulder tackled, knocking him to the ground. Nathan recovered as the 3 soldiers rushed him and he traded blows with all of them for a full minute.

He managed to maneuver away from them and get some distance before unleashing six shuriken in quick succession. The shuriken hit them, stopping them briefly. Nathan took the opportunity to throw a shuriken with all his might at one, which split his head wide open. He jumped up and pulled two of his kunai out and stabbed another one in the brain with both. He then grabbed the third's head with both of his hands and crushed his skull and brain as flat as a pancake with all of his superhuman might. He noticed that the one he sent flying away into the raftets was running at him again. He waited until he got close and grabbed his neck, flipping around in a marvelous display of acrobatics, before holding his neck and forcing him to bend backwards. With one mighty SNAP, Nathan separated head from body.

Nathan quickly rounded up the bodies and threw them in a pile. He stabbed four arrows into the pile. They sprayed a liquid on the bodies before a spark from each arrow lit the pole up in a ball of flame. It was an idea he had gotten from Garfield Lyns, outfitting his arrows with a special Turpentine cannister and spark plug to ignite the volatile substance, giving him a way to dispose of evidence if he ever needed to.

As he watched the body burn, his attention was taken by the sound of a shotgun firing and his back being filled with lead. He turned around, realizing in his anger, he had completely missed one, only to be blasted in the abdomen with three 8 gauge slugs, with the man finally jamming four self-injecting syringes into his body. Prometheus dropped to the ground.

The man gave him one last glance and walked off. Nathan tried to get up, to move, to do anything- but then he spotted two self-injecting syringes that had pieced his leg. All he could do was open his com link and say, **"I need help."** before passing out.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _ **Five years ago**_

 _Slade was still screaming, the blood was running down from his eyes like tiny rivers as Nathan separately tried to hold him still. He arched once more, gave one more scream, then a gasp, and then was still. Sara knelt down and felt for a pulse. She shook her head._

 _"No." Nathan said, pounding on Slade's chest. The two of them had finally settled their differences and now he had been cruelly taken from him. "Please. Please!" Shado pulled him up and away and embraced him as they both started to cry. "Please."_

 _A moment later, the pirates and Ivo bust through the hatch with weapons drawn. "Put down your weapons!" the new Captain screamed as Nathan and Shado looked on, defeated._

 **Flashback End**

 **Present**

Lyla, Skye and Helena ran through the bunker, looking for their boyfriend/ leader.

"Nathan! Nathan!" Lyla was shouting, "Nathan!"

Helena spotted him first. "Nathan!" she screamed, running over to him. She dropped beside him and felt for a pulse.

"Is he alive?" Lyla asked.

"His pulse is weak, but it's there." Helena said shakily. "Nathan! Can you hear me?" she forced his eyelids up to look at his eyes. "His pupils are dilated!" she looked around, and then she spotted the four syringes stuck in his leg and chest. She yanked them out quickly and examined them.

"What the hell was that?" Lyla asked.

"I don't know, it's coded." Skye scrambled up and ran to the computer to pull up what it was. "Damn it." She cursed when she saw that the computer was destroyed. "Damn it! I can't break into the dispensary files. I have no idea what he was injected with! Poisoned with." She corrected herself tearfully.

All of a sudden, a whoosh was heard and Kara appeared as Supergirl. "Supergirl!?" Skye asked in shock.

"I got your call, Lyla. I got here as fast as I could." Kara apologized. She picked up Nathan and grabbed Lyla, Helena, and Skye. "Hold on tight."

She appeared a minute later by the hideout. Helena, Lyla and Skye led her down to the lair as she carried Nathan.

"DO any of you know what he was injected with?" Kara asked.

"No, we don't." Lyla admitted as they hurried.

Natasha cleared a table as she laid him down and opened up his costume.

"Start CPR, I need to figure out what's causing this." Kara said. Lyla rolled up her sleeves and began chest compression's.

"Stay with us, Nate" Kara muttered before she used her x-ray vision to see his skeletal and circulatory system. Several seconds later, she saw his blood was thick and barely moving.

"Got it. His blood is clotting unnaturally. It's as thick as maple syrup. I need something to thin his blood and get it moving so his healing factor can kick in." Kara informed.

Natasha, remembering they had a rat problem, looked and quickly found the box of rat poison.

"Supergirl!" She said, getting the Kryptonian's attention. She tossed the box and she caught it.

"Warfarin. A small amount should do the trick." She said and quickly mixed it with an injectable compound.

"That could kill him!" Daisy said as she held him down.

"He could die at this rate if we don't." Natasha argued.

"Do it!" Helena and Lyla said at the same time. Kara hurried over and injected it into his arm.

She checked again on his blood stream. "I can his blood thinning. It's circulating again."

Nathan was barely awake. Suddenly he heard Shado's voice in his head. "Let go, my love."

Nathan turned and saw a hallucination of his beloved Shado. "Don't fight anymore". The hallucination said.

"Stay with me." She said, reaching out to him. He reached out as well and finally unconscious, his friends and lovers cries to stay awake in the background.

 **Chapter End**

 **So, Nathan lost his cool and nearly got killed. Lyla calling Kara makes sense since she was there when Kara revealed herself to Nathan. It makes more sense to call the powerhouse Lyla knows, than to naively trust a kid they just met. Nathan may know Barry but Lyla and the girls don't. They are not like Felicity as they all are more mature and realistic.**


	29. Three Ghosts

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth 0 Laurel, Earth 2 Laurel, Lena Luthor,**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), McKenna Hall, Harley Quinn, Evelyn Sharp,**

 **Can't make up my bloody mind: Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Amanda Waller, Eliza Danvers, Caitlin Snow, Isabel Rochev, Alex Danvers, Dinah Drake, Loise Lincoln aka Killer Frost,**

 **Just an FYI, I'm the author here. If I say Nate is Naruto, then he is Naruto. End of Discussion.**

 _ **Chapter 29: The Three Ghosts**_

The monitors were silent now. Nathan had passed out once more as the rat poison began to take effect. Lyla and Daisy were over at her station, Chien was leaning against a table, twirling a knife. Helena was sitting near him, Kara was monitoring his vitals with her X-ray vision and Natasha was slowly peeling off a piece of evidence tape from his neck when Nathan shot awake. Operating off of pure instinct, he reached out and clamped his hand around Natasha's throat. She gasped which got Kara's attention.

"Nate, let her go," Kara said as she pried Nathan's hand of Natasha's throat. She moved away and coughed.

"What the…" he gasped slightly. "What the fuck happened?"

"You were injected with a strong-acting blood coagulant." Natasha explained as she coughed.

"You would have stroked out," Kara said. "But fortunately you had a very effective blood thinner handy. Warfarin. Better known as rat poison."

"She saved your life, Nathan." Lyla told him.

Nathan looked at Lyla incredulously. "You called her." He accused.

"Yeah, I did." She said bluntly.

"You shouldn't have. I would have been fine!" He denied, not thinking clearly because of the rage over what happened with Slade and Shado in his past still haunting him. He knew, of course, that they were right. But he couldn't focus. Not with the Mirakuru hallucinations. He needed his emotions under control and until he put this Mirakuru enhanced bastard down, he wouldn't be able to do that.

"No, you didn't!" Helena argued. "Nathan, I love you! So does Lyla and Chien! Which means it's our job to back you up, if when you don't want it! Especially then!"

"You're lucky they called me when they did, Nate." Kara interjected as Nathan turned his back to them and leaned on the table, hunched over. "10 minutes later and you might have been dead. For all you're healing, you still need your brain to live."

 _"Don't listen to them,"_ He heard in his head as a hallucination of Shado appeared next to him. _"They don't love you. They don't respect you. They fear you. They could never understand you like me."_

"Shut up." Nathan growled as he closed his eyes and grit his teeth.

"Nathan," Chien said softly as she placed a hand on his shoulder, "Baby, please. Talk to us. We just want to help you."

 _"Listen to how they claim to want to want to help you, but they only want to lock you up."_ The hallucination continued.

"Shut up!" Nathan yelled as his eyes opened to reveal his kyuubi eyes and he slammed his fists into the table denting it. Chien stepped back as Nathan threw the table at the wall making it crash.

Nathan looked at the girls with his kyuubi features and was about to say something, but his phone buzzed. He grabbed his phone from the table and looked at it. It was a text from his mother.

::Can you please come home.::

Nathan sighed. "I have to go home." He said breathlessly. "That man that I fought in the bunker, he has what he needs to mass produce the serum from the island. And I'm gonna stop him. Until then, **stay out of my way."** He stated as he grabbed his Prometheus gear and shuffled up the stairs.

"What is wrong with him?" Skye asked, reeling from the experience of him losing his cool and yelling at them.

"This Mirakuru stuff," Kara said outloud, "what really happened to him during that 2nd year that he would act this way?". He had given her a brief overview, but that was it.

"What did he tell you?" Lyla asked.

"Not much. Just that he was injected with it. And that his lover was killed and his mentor betrayed him and he killed him in his second year." Kara said.

"Who would know about that year more?" Chien asked, hugging herself.

"Sara and maybe Talia, but nobody knows how to reach Sara, and Talia never answers." Lyla said.

"What do you recommend we do?" Natasha asked, as being the newest recruit, she would defer to the senior members judgment on this.

Helena got up and addressed the others, "We going to help him. Regardless of whether he wants it or not. He needs to see that we are not going to abandon him just because he's having an episode. And when he's ready to explain himself, we'll be there waiting for him with open arms." She said as she wiped the tears away from her eyes before heading up the stairs.

Lyla sighed as Natasha remarked, "She isn't taking this well."

"Who can fucking blame her? Nate's never had an episode like this." Chien rubbed her head.

Daisy came up behind Kara. "Never meet your heroes, right?" she asked. Kara could only sigh, not really sure how to help her friend.

 **Queen Manor**

Nathan, cleaned up and dressed properly, walked into the parlor to see her mother decorating the Christmas tree. "Mom?" he said, getting her attention.

"Nathan, thank you for coming home, sweetheart." She said wearily as she moved over to him.

"Is everything all right?" Nathan asked; worried.

"Well, I don't know." She started. "Your sister has locked herself in her room and she won't talk to me."

"Okay, why?" Thea asked confused.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to her." Nathan assured her.

"Ok."

Nathan looked at the tree again, and it finally registered in his rage addled brain. "It's Christmas."

"Yes. But given the last gala that we threw, I think we're going to skip this year's Christmas party." Moira added with a smile.

Nathan chuckled, and then moved off to see his sister.

A few minutes later he walked up to his sister's door and knocked. "Thea, its Nate. Open the door." He yelled.

"Not-not now, Nate." She yelled back.

"Speedy, open the door or I'll break it down!" he yelled back, annoyed.

"Is mom with you?" she yelled through the door.

"No!" he exclaimed. He heard Thea walking towards the door; a moment later, it opened. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I didn't want mom to see." Thea began.

"See what?" Nathan asked, though he already had a sneaking suspicion. Which was confirmed a moment later when she opened the door wider, to reveal Roy lying on her bed, his pants leg cut and a towel laid out to catch the blood from the arrow still stuck in his leg. Sin was seated on the bed beside him, tending to the wound.

"What happened to him?" Nathan asked nonchalantly as he walked into the room.

"Prometheus decided to use him as target practice." Thea said. "You're right- the guy's a psycho."

Nathan stopped beside the bed. "Why didn't you go to the hospital?" he asked Roy.

"In this city, an arrow's the same as a bullet if you want the cops involved." Roy said through gritted teeth.

"And mom actually likes Roy, but something tells me she'd revoke his tree trimming invitation if she found out he was messing around with Prometheus." She said, that last part added sharply to her boyfriend.

"Uh-huh." Nathan said. He looked over at Sin, recognizing her from the picture her dad had on her. "Hi." He took a towel from her. "Roy. Just a fair warning. This is going to hurt." He said as he climbed onto the bed.

"My anger's dulling the pain." Roy said.

"This will dull it better." Sin said, offering him a bottle of Vodka. He took it with a shaky hand and took a small sip.

Nathan wrapped the towel around the shaft of the arrow, and then very slowly and very carefully pulled it out.

Roy groaned loudly in pain as Nathan set the arrow down and put the towel back on the wound. "Going to want to put pressure on it." He said, taking Roy's hand and placing it on the towel. "Right there." Roy took over, and Nathan slid off the bed and pulled out his phone. He quickly dialed Lyla. "Lyla, I need you to come to the Queen Mansion." he said. "Roy's been shot. With an arrow." He added, glancing back at the trio. "It's a long story. Look, just bring the first aid kit to Thea's room." He said, cutting off Lyla's lecture. "Thank you." He hung up and turned back to the three. "Roy, my bodyguard, Ms. Michaels; she has medical training from her time in the army. She's going to patch you up." He said.

"Thank you." Roy said weakly.

"It's the least I can do." Nathan said awkwardly. "Look, I don't know what the three of you are up to, but maybe Prometheus was just trying to keep you safe." He offered.

"By shooting Roy?" Thea asked incredulously.

"I…I'm just saying. Maybe it's a sign that you're in over your heads and you should let this go. For your own safety." Nathan said. He walked out of the room and closed the door.

Sin looked at her friends. "So," she started. "Are you going to let this go?"

"No." Thea said firmly. "But now we're going to do things my way." She said, looking sternly at Roy.

 **Hallway**

Out in the hallway Nathan was walking back towards his own room when, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a woman walking round the corner down the hall. He moved down and turned the corner. "Mom!" he called out, but there was no one there. "Hello!" He looked down the hall in puzzlement.

"Nǐ hǎo, qīn'ài de."

Nathan's eyes widened and he spun back around to see Shado standing in the hall. "Shado?" he said in disbelief. He moved closer and hesitantly reached out, touching her cheek tenderly. She smiled up at him as he rubbed her cheek gently. "You're not real." He said sadly.

"I had to see you. Had to warn you." Shado said.

"Warn me?" Nathan asked.

"You can't fight what's coming. Put down your bow." She told him gently. "Take off my father's hood."

"I wear that hood to honor your father." He argued softly. "And to honor you. To protect my city and every innocent soul who lives in it."

"If you want to honor me, stop fighting…and live. Or everyone you love will die."

Nathan's face darkened at that. "I know Shado better than anyone. The **real** Shado would never have told me to give up. You are nothing but a figment of my imagination. Begone."

The hallucination vanished and Nathan closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself, yet when he opened them again, Shado was still there.

Shado then smiled darkly, a sign that this was a Mirakuru hallucination, and said, "I will **never** leave you, my love. Not until you've avenged me."

"Nate?" Nathan spun around to see Thea standing there. "Who were you talking to?" she asked.

 **Five years ago-**

 _The miracle had failed. Slade was dead. And now Nathan, Shado and Sara were at the mercy of a madman as Ivo and his men burst into the compartment._

 _Ivo spotted Sara, standing frozen by the door. He grabbed her arm and shoved her towards Nathan and Shado. "Get over there!"_

 _He shined his light down on Slade, and knelt down. He slowly reached towards his body and felt for a pulse, but found none. He noted the bloody tears, then saw the empty syringe on the ground and picked it up. He was examining it when the new captain walked back into the compartment, the wooden crate in his hand. "Mirakuru."_

 _While Ivo was reveling in his victory, Nathan pulled out a small knife and slipped it into Shado's hand. She looked at him and he nodded subtly._

 _He said, rising to examine the box. He looked at the rows of syringes in wonder. Then turned back to his men. "Take them." He ordered._

 _A short time later the group was walking back through the forest towards the Amazo. Nathan, Shado and Sara all had their hands bound behind them with zip ties, and Ivo led Sara at gunpoint personally._

 _"Anthony, you got what you wanted. You can let them go." Sara said, trying to reason with the man. She turned back to face him. "If you ever cared about me." She pleaded._

 _"But I do care about you, Sara." Ivo said. "Which is why I won't choose to kill you." Sara blinked as Ivo's insanity came to the front. "But he might."_

 _Nathan, who had stopped with the rest, looked at the doctor in confusion as he forced both Sara and Shado to their knees._

 _"What are you talking about?" Nathan asked in dread._

 _"Time to choose, Nathan." Ivo said with insane glee. "Who lives, and who dies. But pick quickly, because in 30 seconds, I will shoot them both." Nathan stared at the two women in horror._

 **Flashback End**

 **Present-**

In Blood's warehouse, the remaining super soldier, Sebastian Stan, gave the man himself an update as the scientist ran the blood, serum and sedative through the centrifuge.

"The incubation process has begun. Serum will be ready for distribution in 48 hours." Stan told Blood.

"Two days." Blood replied. "And we will be able to create a hundred more like you. And the people who run this city will see what real power looks like."

 **Lair**

Kara, was looking at the costume display. "I know I saw this the first time, but it's a bit sad to see him put this up for good."

"What are you talking about?" Daisy asked.

"Last year when he told me his secret, he brought me down here and I got to see the lair." Kara explained. "Still, I liked his old alias as the Arrow."

"He likes to be called Prometheus now." Lyla noted. "A bit pretentious, even for him."

"So, I know you Lyla. But I haven't met the other's." Kara said. Prompting the other 4 ladies in the room to step forward.

"So, I'm Kara Danver's aka Supergirl," Kara introduced, "I'm a reporter at CatCo, and I know Nate because he was my first boyfriend in highschool."

"I'm Helena Bertinelli," Helena introduced, some of her previous sadness gone, "CEO of Bertinelli Construction, though I also go by Huntress when I'm in the field."

"And how did you meet Nate?" Kara asked.

"I accidentally hurt his mom during a drive-by and he tracked me down, which led to him helping me kill my father and dismantle his criminal organization." Helena said.

"Huh," Kara noted. She then moved on to Chien.

"I'm Chien Na Wei, though to my subordinates, I'm China White," Chien introduced, "I'm an assassin and the leader of the Starling City Branch of the Triad."

Kara moved on to Daisy. "I'm Daisy Johnson, though most call me Skye." Daisy said. "So, just wondering, is it true you're an alien?"

"Yeah. Why?" Kara asked.

"Oh nothing, I just think that's totally awesome!" Skye said excitedly.

Kara smiled and moved on to Natasha. "Natasha Romanova," Natasha said curtly.

"Ooookay," Kara cringed a little.

"Look, I know it may seem like Nate's being an ass but it's probably not what you think. If anything, I would say he is doing it to try to protect you all." Kara offered.

"What makes you an expert on Nathan's thoughts?" Helena demanded.

"Because you all know him from after the 5 years away. I knew his pre-island self. Heck, I dated that guy, and that version of him **was** an ass. He's not that guy anymore," Kara said. "That, and I know what's it's like to keep people at arm's length in the interest of protecting them."

"He won't talk to us and even then, we can't him," Helena stated. She was **NOT** giving up on him by any means, but he wouldn't tell them what was going on and she didn't know how to coax it out of him. He had never been this difficult with them before.

"I might be able talk to him. At least try to make him see that he's only hurting the people that love him by keeping them at arms length." Kara said as she left.

 **D.A.'s office**

Laurel was hard at work. She looked up to see Thea and Sin walk in.

"What brings you by?" she asked cautiously, knowing full well she had just tried to have the girl's mother sent to prison for life, or worse.

"We need your help." Thea began, slightly reluctant. "Cindy's friend was murdered, but the police aren't going to investigate. They said that he OD'ed, end of story."

"Check this out." Sin handed Laurel the pamphlet about the blood drive. "He earned extra money donating blood. We found it in Max's apartment. They wouldn't have accepted his blood if he was using, right?" she added.

"Max went missing the same day as the blood drive." Thea continued. "If he did donate blood there, maybe they at least know something that happened to him."

"I'll ask around." Laurel promised.

"Thank you, Laurel." Thea said. She and Sin left, leaving Laurel with the pamphlet- and her flowers.

 **Downtown**

 **Midday**

Nate, decked out in his Prometheus gear, snuck into the building where Sebastian Stan stays.

Upstairs, Nate, after looking around to make sure no one saw him, picked the lock on Stan's door and opened. He knocked an arrow, and he moved slowly into the apartment.

" **This place is too clean**." He muttered as he looked around, and then noticed a book laying on the kitchen counter. " **Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday**." He read off. _'I know this poem. It symbolizes the seven stages of life- from birth to death.'_

 **"What stage is this guy going through?"** Nate wondered. Nate searched the whole apartment but didn't find him. Though when he looked out at the window, he saw Slade glaring at him from a rooftop.

Nate left after he searched the place, finding nothing, and headed back to one of his two backup lairs. This one, being under his families mansion.

 **Five years ago-**

 _"You don't have to do this!" Nathan exclaimed as he broke his thumb and slowly readied himself to slip out of his cuffs. "You got what you came for! Just leave us!"_

 _Ivo pointed the gun at Shado's head. "10 Seconds."_

 _"You fucking psycho!" Nathan shouted._

 _"History will make that judgment." He moved the gun to Sara "Five seconds." Nathan stared at the two women, torn._

 _Sara was the perfect example of his previous life, of the Nathaniel Queen who had boarded the Queen's Gambit, the Nathan who crawled from that lifeboat unaware of where he had landed, and of Starling City. His beautiful home, his baby sister Thea, his mother Moira, Sara, Laurel, Tommy, and even Oliver. He owed it to both sisters to bring Sara back, to make sure she survived. Sara wouldn't be in this mess had his brother not freaked out over his stupid worries of relationship commitment with Laurel. Sara defined his dreams to return home, to be with those he loved once more._

 _Shado was the perfect example of his life now, here on Lian Yu. The foolish, selfish, weak playboy known as Nathaniel Queen had died when he came face to face with Edward Fryers and Billy Wintergreen, and now a stronger and darker man knelt. Shado had taught him to survive, to be strong. She had taught him how to use a bow and arrow. She healed them when Slade and Nathan had gotten injured; she had kicked their asses as much as she saved them. Shado was strong, fierce and brave. He loves her._

 _Sara was his past and Shado was his present, the two halves of Nathaniel Queen. But what of his future?_

 _Nathan came to a realization then. It didn't matter what happened, for if either of his two lives died, part of him would die as well. His future didn't matter, all that mattered was the two women in front of him._

 _He could not, He **WOULD NOT** **CHOOSE!**_

 _"Stop! Wait!" He shuffled forward as fast as his legs could take him, he didn't kneel in front of Shado or even Sara, but stood between the two women that made up both sides of Nathan Queen. "Don't shoot them," he pleaded with the madman, "I choose me, kill me Ivo! I'm the one who killed your men, I'm the one who found the hōzen, I'm the one who caused all this trouble for you. Shoot. Me."_

 _Ivo seemed to agree with this and he stepped closer to Nathan. "Had you chosen one of them," Ivo nodded his heads to the bound females, "I would have shot them in the head, quick and painless, but you." Ivo's face turned into a snarl, an ugly grimace of pure hatred and rage. "You ruined everything, I'm going to kill you slowly and painfully… Goodbye Nathaniel Queen."_

 _"No, goodbye to you." Nathan slipped out of his cuffs and grabbed the gun and forced it up as Ivo shot. The bullet pierced the air._

 _On the sub, Slade suddenly awakened, fully healed._

 _"Shado…" he looked around. Suddenly, he knew they were in trouble. "Kid!"_

 **Flashback End**

 **Queen Manor**

Nathan opened the door and was surprised to see Laurel.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi." She replied.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked.

"I came by to see Thea." She said.

"Oh." He moved aside to let her in. "Go on in. She's upstairs in her room." He told her as he shut the door.

"I noticed on the drive up that your house wasn't festooned with Christmas decorations." Laurel started.

"Well, we didn't feel very much like festooning this year." Nathan admitted wearily.

"I know what you mean." Laurel sighed. "I remember last Christmas, Tommy and I came here for your party. It was one of the best holidays I'd had in a really long time." She told him.

"Anyway, I should probably go talk to Thea." Nathan watched her go and thought as he snuck into his secret underneath the mansion. _'Once I'm done dealing with this Mirakuru bastard, I'm gonna do what I should have done and be there for you.'_

A few minutes later, Laurel was talking to Thea and her friends in her room. "I checked into the blood drive, and it's all legitimate." She said. "In fact, what Sebastian's done has helped save a lot of lives."

"So if the blood drive is on the up and up, then how are we supposed to find Max's killer?" Sin wondered, dejected.

"There's one other thing." Laurel pulled out a file and handed it to Thea. "All of the blood donors at the drive were subjected to a psych evaluation by the Langford Institute."

"Is that, like, legal?" Roy asked.

"It's not entirely out of the norm." Laurel replied. "And while someone at the institute might know if Max was on drugs, there's no way of finding out without a warrant. Which we're certainly not going to get." She added regretfully. "I'm sorry I couldn't be more help." She told Thea, who nodded her thanks as she read the file.

 **Central City**

 **Same time**

Barry walked into the CCPD only to find Joe walking.

"Barr?" Joe asked.

"Hey, Joe." Barry said.

"Where the hell have you been!? Me and Iris have been worried sick." Joe said.

Before any more could be said, Singh opened his office. "Allen! My Office. NOW!"

Joe and Barry cringed as Joe motioned for Barry to go on in.

As he walked towards the chiefs office, he glanced at the news.

 _'Protests continue into the final countdown for tomorrow night's ignition of S.T.A.R. Lab's controversial particle accelerator.'_ The broadcaster was saying. ' _S.T.A.R. Lab's founder Harrison Wells promises a new era of scientific advancement is at hand.'_

"I made it back in time to see them turn it on." He noted.

 **Queen's Sanctuary(AN: This is what the lair under the Queen Mansion will be called)**

Nathan came into his lair and walked over to the weapons case. He grabbed his bow and an arrow and stepped back into the center of the room. He bounced the ball once, and then tossed it up into the air. He let it bounce away once before nocking the arrow and firing it-

And gasped when it was caught by Slade Wilson.

"What's the matter, kid?" Slade asked with a sneer as Nathan stood there, having schooled his emotions, his face cold as stone. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

 **Verdant Lair**

Kara, Chien, Lyla, and Helena were busy braining storming ideas of how to find Nate. Daisy and Natasha were at work.

Kara sighed as she said, "I starting to wonder if he's even in the city."

"What do you mean, Kara?" Lyla asked.

"I have flown over the city and searched every inch of it 5 times today. I found him once in this apartment downtown but he gave me the slip." Kara sighed.

Helena asked the group, "Is it possible that he is holed up somewhere else?"

Lyla couldn't think of anything but Chien was thinking hard on something. "Chien, what is it?" Helena asked.

"He mentioned offhandedly, during one of our nights together, that he was building two more bases, incase this one was ever compromised." Chien said. "I didn't think much of it, because he said they weren't finished."

"But then, where is he holed up, if not in the city?" Kara asked and they all considered it.

After a few minutes, Helena realized where he was hiding. "Oh, that genius."

"What?" Kara asked.

"His families mansion." Helena said in mild astonishment. "The one place nobody would ever look is his family's mansion. He must have built a base there, underneath his mansion. I'm sure of it."

"I'll go check there," Kara said as she made to leave but not before she pulled out a key. "In the apartment I caught him in, I found this. It might belong to the guy almost killed him."

"I'll look into it." Skye said a Kara left.

"We aren't going with her?" Lyla asked.

"Should we?" Helena asked, "If words fail she's the only one who can knock some sense into him."

"How much has he told you two, about his time away from Starling?" Chien asked the other 2 women.

"Not that much. Only the basic's." Lyla admitted.

"Well, don't hold it against him." Chien asked them, "He has a right to not feel comfortable about talking about his past that much. Especially that second year. It was the year he was injected with Mirakuru, and he told me once that it was the worst year of his life."

 **Queen's Sanctuary**

"This is a nice place." Slade was saying as he waved the arrow around. "It's a bit more comfortable than the fuselage on the island."

"You're not real." Nathan said bluntly.

"Neither are you." Slade said, walking up to the display case and staring at the hood. "You told everyone when you started this crusade that it was about making up for your father's sins. That was a lie." He snapped the arrow and dropped it to the ground. "This charade is to atone for your sins." He accused.

"You died. Either from the wounds I gave you, or you drowned when the Amazo sank." Nathan said plaintively.

"You are not a hero." Slade shot back. "Or a friend. Or a brother. You are nothing." Nathan turned away from Slade. "Do not turn your back on me, not again." He thundered.

"You turned your back on me first." Nathan said.

"Wherever I am, It's time you joined me." Slade rushed Nathan.

Nathan, not wanting to deal with this, gripped his throat. Slade's apparition struggled against his grasp, but he couldn't break free. "Go back to Hell! Where you belong, **traitor**!" Nathan roared as he decapitated Slade's Apparation with a single strike.

Nathan leaned back on a table, taking a deep breath. For several moments, nothing happened, then he heard it. "You're lying to yourself, Nathan."

He turned to see Shado's apparition again. The Mirakuru, trying to egg him on again.

"You know that he's alive. You've always known. But still, you do nothing." The apparition egged.

Nathan gripped his head as he tried to ignore her.

"You know what he did to me. To you. You know what he cost us. Yet here you stand. Doing nothing. Getting weak. Pathetic." She egged.

"Shut up. Leave me alone." Nathan growled.

"Not until you give me what you promised. Give me what you promised," The apparition demanded.

Nathan slammed his fist into the table and turned around with full kyuubi features, roaring **"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"**

The apparition seemed to vanish for a moment, then reappeared behind him. "Not until Slade and the rest of the Mirakuru are gone from this world." Shado said at the apparition sauntered over to him.

Nathen turned to her, something a dark and unhinged look in his eye, and said, "He is dead. He died on the Amazo. And that little shit that nearly killed me will die soon."

"Say he's dead all you want. Nonsense repeated a thousand times does not make it truth." The apparition said as she walking around him, trailing a finger across his muscles. "Listen love, you're the only one who can avenge me. You're the only one who can make them suffer."

She stopped in front of him. "Do you know why?"

Nathan was at his wits end as the Mirakuru tightened it's grip on his mind, and in this moment, his mind was no longer his own. "I keep my promises."

The Mirakuru induced hallucination of Shado kissed him deeply on the lips. "I miss you, Shado." He muttered as the hallucinated kiss ended.

The hallucination vanished and Nathan breathed deeply as he looked at his mask that he held up.

"Nathan?" Kara's voice came as the door to his hideout was rended in half by her strength.

Kara walked into the lair and saw Nathan. "Hey, sorry about the door but I'm not in a great mood. I've been searching for you all day. Come on, the others ae waiting for you."

Nathan did not make any motion to move or respond.

Concerned, Kara walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nate, are you okay?"

Without warning, he threw her over his shoulder and she flew into the nearby wall.

"Nate?" She asked. He didn't seem to be in the right state of mind.

" **COME ON!"** He roared as she saw his kyuubified features. One thing stood out though. His eyes. Normally, it would be a red iris with a black slit pupil. Now though, his sclera and iris were blood red, and the pupil was still black and slit. A sign that he was not in control anymore.

He leapt at Kara, with a downward punch. She rolled away and to her feet as he turned around.

"Nathan, stop!" She pleaded with him, words falling on deaf ears.

He roared as he rushed her swiping his claws at her. She used what knowledge she had of fighting to dodge several strikes. She placed her hands on his chest and user her superstength to push him away.

"I don't want to fight you!" She yelled at him.

He didn't let up though, as he came at her again.

After dodging and being hit with 10 blows, Supergirl had enough. She caught his fist and applied pressure, enough to break every bone in his hand. "I'm sorry," She said as she punched him 4 times in the face so hard that he was knocked unconscious.

Kara sighed as she picked him up and placed him on a table.

She searched his pockets until she found his phone and called Helena.

Helena picked up on her end. "Babe?"

"Sorry," Kara said, "it's Kara."

"What is it?" Helena asked, worried for both of them.

"I found him," Kara said as she looked at Nathan's unconscious form. "But I would not come around for awhile. He's….not doing very well. Until I'm sure he's okay mentally, I'd keep my distance."

 **Several hours later**

Nathan groaned as he awoke. He felt something in his mouth loose. He tried to open his jaw but pain erupted in his mouth. He worked quickly to reset his jaw back into place.

"sorry about the jaw," Kara said, making herself known, "But you weren't listening when I asked you to stop."

She walked over to him. "Are you okay?"

Nathan rubbed his face with both hands. "Damn it."

"What? What is it?" Kara asked.

"This…This wasn't supposed to happen." Nathan breathed. "I thought I beat it. I thought it was gone for good."

"What? What did you beat?" Kara asked as she sat next to him.

"The Mirakuru," Nathan whispered. Unknown to him, the other girls were listening in on their conversation, as Kara thought they deserved to know. "It has a side effect. It may grant me impressive super human abilities, but for those who survive, they are constantly subjected to hallucinations that egg them on towards violence. Mine takes the appearance of the first woman I ever loved, a woman I also met on the island. Shado Gulong." The girls in the Verdant could hear his voice become pained.

"I'm only alive because of her. On the island, I took 20 bullets for her, using my body as a shield. I would have died had it not been for her injecting the stuff into me. Yet, moments after coming back from the brink of death, she was shot, and I held her in my arms as she died, and their was nothing I could do." HE said as a tear trailed down his cheek.

"I don't like talking about my past." He admitted a moment of silence. "Not just because its filled with traumatic event after event, to where I've dealt with more trauma than many war veterans. It's also a trigger for the Mirakuru. Especially the 2nd year."

"After that 2nd year, the voices in my head would bother me constantly. It took a whole year of meditation to force those voices into the back of my head and keep them there. After that, the hallucination would only appear, when something reminded me of Shado or Slade, the one who betrayed me."

He turned to Kara, "I never thought that the Mirakuru would reappear, nor did I think it would cause my hallucinations to come back, full force." Nathan then thought horror, "God, tell me the girls are okay."

"They're okay, but your team is definitely shaken. They've never seen you act this way." Kara said. Then she asked, "Why did you push them away?"

"They're not ready for this. Not Mirakuru." He said. "When Slade and I were first injected, we could run 100 miles an hour, we could punch holes in a person's body, snap an AK-47 in half with our bare hands, and bullets didn't even cause us to flinch. They can't handle that. I-I was just trying to keep them all safe."

"But I didn't mean to react so violently and lash out against them." He cried as Kara hugged him as he cried into her shoulder. "I-I don't want them to fear me."

"They won't be afraid of you." She whispered compassionately, "I'm sure they will see, as I do, that you're just going through a rough time, made worse by the super drug inside you. They'll that you only had the best of intentions in mind. They love you. They won't turn their backs. Just as I won't."

Lyla cut the feed. She sighed as she turned to the others. "I should have realized it was PTSD."

"Don't blame yourself Lyla." Chien said. "Nate's pretty much the only expert on the Mirakuru. If he couldn't predict such an episode, I don't think any of us could have."

"He never had an episode? Not once since you've known him?" Daisy asked.

"Not once. He must have had it under control by the time he joined the Triad." Chien said.

"The first time I met his was during his 3rd year. No similar incident was ever reported. That incident with general Shrieve was probably all him." Lyla said.

"There may have been one time before I joined him in his crusade, when we were tied up by Salvati. But he was just muttering to himself. He didn't explode like he did earlier." Helena said, her heart aching to comfort her beloved and swearing to do so once she saw him again.

"Guys, we got something here." Daisy called out. The 4 other women headed over to her. "I scanned the key Kara at that apartment. It belongs to one Sebastian Stan and I traced its serial code back to the manufacturer."

"This particular key fits a locked gate somewhere on Crescent Circle in the Glades." Natasha stated.

"Someone needs to let Nate know." Daisy said.

"I'll do it," Helena said as she called him.

Nathan pulled away from Kara as his phone went off. "Helena?" He asked.

"Babe, we found Stan, the guy who nearly killed you." Helena said.

"Baby, I am so sorry, I-"

"Nate, I promise we will talk about this. But right now, someone is out there trying to make more of you. And they need to be stopped." She said.

"You know the Mirakuru best, Nathan. Whatever you think is the right call, we trust you." Lyla said into the phone.

Nathan sighed as he looked at Kara, who nodded, and he said, "Send me the location. Helena, I want you, Lyla, and Natasha nearby and on standby until I call you." Nathan said as he hung up.

He looked at Kara and said, "I want you with me, Kara. Back me up."

"Our first team up." Kara gasped.

"You stopped me before I went on Mirakuru rampage. There's no telling what I would have done had you not stopped me." He said.

"Let's go kick their ass." He said as he grabbed his bow.

 **Langford Institute**

Roy smashed the window on the door and unlocked the door. He hobbled in on his bad leg, and then went to the file cabinets.

He ripped open a drawer and rapidly flipped through the files until he finally found a folder with Max's picture on it. He flipped through the file, looking for any kind of evidence. Closing the file, he looked at Max's picture. He lifted it to see if anything was on the back- and there was, a large black stamp that read 'Mirakuru'. A noise sent Roy scurrying of cover behind a desk, and from another office, the Doctor from the warehouse appeared. He looked around, but seeing nothing, he returned to the office and carried on with his task- pouring gasoline all over the floor in preparation of torching the place.

Roy jumped up and ran into the office, shoving the doctor into a wall hard and taking out through the back door. He ran down the hall- but at an intersection was clotheslined by Barnes. Roy landed hard, and passed out as Stan loomed over him wearing the black featureless mask.

When he awoke, he was strapped to a chair in the warehouse lab. Behind him stood Barnes, sans mask; to the left stood Doctor Langford, who opened the centrifuge to reveal a dozen glass vials filled with the Mirakuru concoction. Langford took out a vial and slipped it into an empty hypo.

"It's ready." Langford said as he handed it to the third person in the room, Brother Blood.

"Is this where you killed Max Stanton, hmm?" Roy asked as the masked man approached. He eyed the needle fearfully. "What are you doing? If you stick that in me, I'll kill you." He threatened.

Blood grabbed Roy by the throat and forced his head to the side. "No, Brother Roy. You'll kill for me." He said ominously as he stuck the needle in and injected the Mirakuru. Roy screamed in pain as the drug started to take effect…

Suddenly there was an explosion. A large hunk of the ceiling fell into the room, and from the hole dropped Prometheus. Langford clumsily drew a gun to shoot the vigilante, but an arrow to the chest killed him. Nathan drew another arrow and held it on Blood.

"Brother Stan told me he killed you." Blood said.

 **"Guess he's not as strong as you'd hoped."** Prometheus growled. **"Where'd you get the Mirakuru? Who gave you the formula?! This stuff is too dangerous for a fool like you!"** Nathan demanded.

"It was a gift." Blood said, holding the syringe almost lovingly as Roy screamed in pain. "A gift I would use to save this city from itself."

" **Then you die,"** He growled as he fired his arrow, intent on killing Blood, only for Stan to step in the way, taking the arrow.

Stan rushed Nathan. Prometheus hit Stan in the face, staggering him. Nathan grabbed the line he had rappelled down on and swung around it, wrapping it around Stan's head as he choked him with it.

Roy continued to writhe in pain as the bloody teas started to fall, and leaned down close, watching the process eagerly. He felt for a pulse when Roy went still.

"Another failure." Blood said, disappointed, as Roy had no pulse.

Nathan looked at to the ground, seemingly defeated. How would he explain this to Thea?

"Don't give up, little bro."

Nathan looked up to see Oliver standing before him. "Oliver?"

Oliver stood beside his little brother. "You're not going to fail here." He told Nathan.

"Oliver, I'm sorry." Nathan said his voice filled with shame. "I wasn't a good brother to you after Grandpa died. I hated how Laurel always took you back, despite the fact that you didn't deserve it. I told you were a waste and better off dead. I told you that I basically wanted you dead."

"You know deep down that you didn't mean what you said, Nate." Oliver said forcefully. "You were angry at me for how callously I treated Laurel. As you had a right to be. But you didn't let my death stop you, you did what you have always done in the face of adversity. You persevered." He looked down at Nathan determinedly. "I know people call you a murderer, a monster, but you are not. You are a true hero, no matter what anyone says. You beat the island. You beat Slade, Shrieve, and Kovar. You avenged me and Dad. So fight, Nathan." He ordered. "Finish this."

"Get out of there and kill him!" Blood ordered.

" **Supergirl! Destroy the device!"** Prometheus shouted. She sped through the roof, breaking through it. She used her heat vision on the centrifuge, melting it slowing. Nathan finished Stan by pulling the cord so hard he decapitated the man. He spun and knocked an explosive arrow. He fired and that, combined with the heat vision from Kara, blew the device to smithereens, destroying the serum.

Blood, enraged but helpless, took off, leaving Nathan and Kara alone.

Kara made to go after him, but Nathan shouted to her, " **Let him go! He's just a pawn."**

Nathan dropped down besides Roy, whose chair had tipped over and quickly cut his bindings free. He pulled him away from the chair and started chest compressions. **"Come on, Roy."** He muttered. **"Hey. I am not leaving anyone else to die**!" he yelled. **"You're strong, kid. Come on! Come on!"** he said in time with the compressions. **"Come on, Roy! Fight."** He grasped his head in both hand and shook him. **"Come on, fight!"** he shouted.

Suddenly Roy began gasping, then coughing. Nathan sat back, relieved.

 **Queen Manor**

 **30 minutes later**

Roy began stirring as a familiar voice penetrated the fog on his mind.

"Roy?!" his eyes opened, and the first thing he noticed was that he was in a comfortable bed. A quick glance around showed it to be Thea's room, and the girl herself called out his name as she and Sin rushed into the room.

"Hey, Roy!" Sin said in relief.

"Where have you been?" Thea demanded in a panicked tone. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"I was…" his mind flashed back to the man in the mask giving him the injection. "I was running down another lead." He told her. "It didn't pan out."

"I thought you were chasing after the Vigilante again." She said, almost in tears. "I got so scared. I thought something happened to you."

"Hey," he grasped her hand. "Hey, don't worry. I'm alive."

 **Verdant Lair**

 **Same Time**

Nathan clambered down the steps into his Lair, where Helena, Chien, Lyla, Natasha, and Daisy waited for him, while Kara stood off to the side.

He stopped in front of the group and took off his mask. "I don't know how to even begin…All I can say is that I am so sorry to all of you. And ask for your forgiveness."

"Oh baby," Helena said as she gripped him in a hug, "Of course we forgive you. We'll always forgive you."

"We understand that you were afraid and just trying to keep us safe." Lyla said as she joined the hug next.

"But next time, please don't push us away. We love you too much to lose you." Chien said as she joined in the now 4 way hug.

Nathan pulled away from the hug and addressed Skye and Natasha. "Daisy, Natasha," he said as he walked closer, "I can only say that I'm sorry. This was never supposed to happen. It is not normal for me."

"I understand, AC. You have a very traumatic past, more traumatic than most. I understand a little better what you must have went through. It's okay." Skye said.

"You have a lot of red in your ledger. I get it better than most." Natasha said before she gained a playful smirk. "That said, remember that we are not damsels in distress. I understand the appeal of being the knight in shining armor, but us girls can handle ourselves."

"I will," Nathan said.

"Kara, thank you so much." Nathan said as he walked over to her and hugged her.

"Don't mention it. You ever need help again, please call me." She told him.

"I will, Karebear," Nathan whispered with a serene smile as he pulled apart. "That said, you should probably get back to Cat."

"Oh, yeah. I probably should," Kara cringed as she had honestly been ignoring her boss the last couple days, and having Winn cover for her at the office. She left in a hurry after saying by with the others.

"Roy was injected with the serum." Nathan revealed.

"Oh, my God, is he ok?" Daisy asked.

Nathan sighed. "He's alive." He said. "But we are going to have to keep an eye on him."

"And Sebastian Stan?" Lyla asked.

"Died on Saturday, buried on Sunday." Nathan said. "But he was working for someone. I saw him; he wore a mask with the image of…of a skull with trunks." He looked to his friends. "He's trying to mass produce the serum to build an army."

"For what?" Lyla asked.

"You're a soldier. What's the primary purpose of an army?" Nathan asked.

"War."

"Something else. I need you to start looking up any sightings of a mercenary with a half black, half orange mask." Nathan said.

"What for?" Helena asked.

"There is something I did not want to admit. But it is the **ONLY** possible explanation. I think Slade Wilson might still be alive." Nathan said, making Lyla, Chien, and Helena looked alarmed.

"That shouldn't be possible." Lyla said.

"I thought so too. And while I don't want to believe anything my stupid hallucinations say…The thing is, none of Slade's test subjects survived, and the only batch of Mirakuru that existed was on that sub. That Japanese sub was never discovered until my 2nd year on the island. Only Slade and I survived injection, and I personally burned all the samples that he didn't inject into his crew. Him being the source is the **ONLY** possible explanation."

"Which is why, I'm taking a small vacation." Nathan announced. The girls looked alarmed.

"Please don't leave," Helena pleaded.

"Listen, I know that this is sudden. But I am too stressed out from the Mirakuru stuff. I need to take a little break from all this. I'll leave a clone here to cover for a few days." Nathan said. The girls slowly warmed up to the idea.

"Then, let's head back to the loft. If you're going to be gone for a few days, we should make the most of it." Chien said with lust shining in her eyes.

 **Unknown Office**

 **Downtown**

A man sat in a well-appointed office, watching a news broadcast of Sebastian Blood's announcement to run for mayor.

 _'I want to serve the people of Starling, not the men and women who think they own it.'_ Sebastian was saying in the previously taped conference. _'Together, we can help rebuild our city into a place where there are no elites and no oppressed. Where we are all brothers and sisters.'_ The man turned off the TV as Blood himself walked into the office.

"So your campaign begins." He said.

"The city needs a leader." Blood said. "And putting the copycat hoods up to assassinating the mayor was just the first step. Even though Queen's hurt my chances by showing me up several, I'm sure it won't hurt me too much."

He took a few steps closer to the desk. "Prometheus..." he began. "He and his friend destroyed the centrifuge and the serum along with it."

"I will arrange for you to receive another sample of my blood, and then you can begin to mass produce the serum again." The man said. "The next time I tell you not to confront Prometheus, you will listen. Do not forget; your mask can always be worn by another." He warned.

"You know who he is under that mask, don't you?" Blood asked.

"I know exactly who he is." Slade Wilson said. "He is my friend."

"That's why you don't want him dead." Blood said in realization.

"Death would be a release from this life, and his sentence is yet to be carried out." Slade said. "I am going to tear everything he cares about away from him."

Mckenna walked into her apartment. Kara flew back to National City.

"Destroy those who choose to follow him."

Roy sat up in Thea's bed and threw off the blanket. He stared at his leg disbelievingly, as it has fully healed.

In the Lair, Daisy stared at her screen. Natasha was seen in her hideout, staring up at the ceiling, thinking about her past.

"Corrupt those he loves."

In Nates penthouse, Helena was being taken from behind by Nathan while Lyla ran her hands all over Nathan's body and Chien was eaten out by Helena. Talia, where she was at, was seen meditating.

"And once he has lost everyone and everything he values- I will drive an arrow through his eye." Slade finished.

 **Five years ago**

 _Nathan had forced the gun up and Ivo was actually shocked that he had escaped from his bonds. Nathan reached up to his arm holding the gun, reached under his sleeve, and pulled out a knife. One of the things he had learned was always be armed. The men Ivo had were truly incompetent as they hadn't even checked for weapons. He stabbed Ivo in the gut, twisted the gun out of his hands, and fired a round into Ivo's shoulder._

 _Nathan then shot one of Ivo's guard dead and Shado cut through her bonds and threw the knife into the head of another guard._

 _Ivo was writhing in pain as he tried to stop the bleeding. In his anger, he shouted to his men, "KILL HIM! KILL HER! KILL THEM BOTH!"_

 _One with an AK-47 pointed at Shado. Nathan hurried over to her and used his body as a shield to protect his beloved Shado. A spray of 20 bullets shot at them, all but two hitting Nathan at various spots in his back._

 _Shado, Sara, Ivo and his men stared in shock at Nathan stood there, hunched over, bullet holes all over his back. "Heh," He breathed, "I made it time." His arms feel to his side as his breathing slowed as he fell to the ground on his side, next to Shado._

 _"No, No, No! Stay with me!" Shado pleaded, holding her beloved in her arms, pleading with him to stay with her._

 _It was at that moment that Slade arrived at the small clearing and grabbed the first man he saw, throwing him back against a tree where he nearly folded in half. He attacked the other two men, killing them with his bare hands as Ivo fled into the forest. He stared down at the AK-47 he had taken off of one of the soldiers, then snapped it in half like it was a twig. The new captain clubbed him on the back with the butt of his rifle, but all that did was piss Slade off even more. Slade punched the man through the chest, then withdrew his hand and let the man drop to the ground, dead. Nathan, Shado, and Sara looked on in surprised horror as Slade stared at his blood fist._

 _Slade looked to Shado and Nate and felt like another missile exploded in his face. "No…" he rushed over to his brother and kneeled next to him, there was so much blood. "No kid, stay with me!" he placed his hands firmly against the wounds, hoping to God Almighty that Nathan could survive. "Stay with us!" He yelled at Nathan, who looked like he was sleeping, save for the blood dribbling down his chin._

 _"Nate!" Sara cried out as she saw his crumbled body being cradled by Shado. He looked so small and vulnerable, his breath ragged and pained, but with each passing second his breathing got shorter and shorter._

 _"Slade," Slade looked to Nathan, whose eyes were foggy and he smiled weakly. "Thank you, for being the brother I always wanted. Please. Live, and make it back to your family."_

 _"Sara," HE breathed, "I'm sorry…that I could not protect you from my brother. And that I never…reciprocated your feelings for me. You…owe it to your family to make it back to them. Make up with you sister. She needs you."_

 _"Shado," She gave him her undivided attention._

 _"I'm here," Shado whispered to him._

 _"I'm sorry. I wanted to go to Xingjian with you. Have you meet my family. Meet your sister. But it doesn't look we're gonna get to go."_

 _"No. No, don't say that. We're gonna make it. You are going to make it." Shado pleaded._

 _"Be realistic," He smiled with blood trailing down both lips. "One of those…bullets hit my liver. Pretty sure…a couple more are inside my lungs." HE coughed blood and breathed deeply._

 _"I love you, Shado. Always and Forever." Nathan breathed as his life faded further, he could no longer keep his eyes open._

 _"No! Don't close your eyes, Kid!" Slade pleaded with him._

 _"Nate," Sara sobbed, having lost her oldest friend and secret love._

 _Shado held him close, crying as he slowly died. That was when she remembered. She felt her pocket and pulled the syringe from her pocket._

 _"What is that?" Slade asked._

 _Sara's eyes widened, "Is that-"_

 _"Slade," Shado muttered, "Hold him."_

 _Slade did so as he held his brother in arms. Shado ripped open his shirt._

 _"Wait, don't inject him with Mirakuru! You've seen what happens to those injected with that. You'd just be making him suffer more pain. That's a fate worse than death." Sara pleaded. The stories of those few that did survive that she heard from Ivo coming to mind. If he didn't, she would just be subjecting him to more torture._

 _"If I don't do something, he dies, and this is the only thing that can save him! I love him! I will not lose him!" Shado shouted. She uncorked the syringe, and plunged it into his heart, hoping a direct injection would work better._

 _For moment, nothing happened. Then Nathan began twitching and spasming. A moment later, he roared in pain. He trashed around for several moments in Slade's grip, shouting at the top of lungs as bloody tears trailed down his cheek. A minute later, he went still._

 _"Slade, is he?" Shado asked._

 _"He's alive. He's just sleeping." Slade said, feeling Nathan breath in his grasp._

 _They heard soft thuds and they all saw the bullets forcing themselves out of his back and his wounds heal at an unnatural speed._

 _A moment later, Nathan awoke with a gasp. He looked around and saw the three._

 _"Slade? Sara? Shado?" He asked and they all nodded._

 _"I'm alive." He breathed as he pulled Shado close to him and kissed her. "I'm alive, Shado."_

 _"Thank God," Shado whispered as they held each other close._

 _When, all of a sudden, three gunshots rang out and Shado arched her back and gasped as they pierced her lungs and heart._

 _"Shado!? No, Shado!" Nathan Shouted as she fell into his arms._

 _Slade looked around and furiously saw one of them hiding in the trees. One of them had stayed behind on Ivo's orders to make sure Shado died._

 _Slade rushed at the man and grasped his neck, before snapping his neck with one hand and throwing his head against a tree making his head explode._

 _"Shado, stay awake. Please don't leave me," Nathan tearfully pleaded with her._

 _"It's only right, isn't it? You saved my life, I save yours." She smiled at him. She reached up to caress his cheek. "I love you, Nathaniel Queen. Always, Forever." With her final piece said she breathed her last._

 _He held her close to him as he sobbed. His tears fell from his eyes. Slade shed a tear as well, weeping for the loss of his surrogate daughter. Sara was sad for Nathan. She could see from the limited interactions that he had loved this girl._

 _Nathan slowly pulled his head up, his eyes swimming with anguish and wrath. His changed to blood red and slit pupils, thick whisker marks appeared on his face, and fingers became claws._

 _He threw his head back and roared, his powerful vocal cords producing a sound that Ivo could here on his ship deck._

 _His beloved had been taken from him, and they would all pay for it._

 **Present-**

 **Central City**

 **5 minutes before the Accelerator went off**

Nathan, Skye, and Natasha walked into a hotel in Central City. He had decided the two girls with him to bond with them more while his clones kept his girlfriends entertained.

"I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner, Boss. I know you wanted to see your friend, that Allen kid." Natasha apologized.

"Let's turn on the news. We can at least see the accelerator go off." Nathan said as they settled in. He did so.

'I'm Linda Park and we're live outside S.T.A.R. Labs despite the inclement weather, which is only going to get worse.' She was saying. 'The torrential downpour has driven away almost all the protesters though S.T.A.R. Labs CEO Harrison Wells has assured us that the storm tonight will in no way affect the particle accelerator, which is up and running smoothly.'

'Wait, we are now being told to evacuate the facility.' The reporter was saying, drawing Nate's attention back to the news. 'The storm may have caused a malfunction to the primary cooling system. Officials are now trying to shut down the particle accelerator, but so far have been unable to regain control of the system—" Suddenly, the power went out. Nate looked up over the top of the monitor to the city outside, and though he couldn't see S.T.A.R. Labs, he most definitely could see the explosion as the particle accelerator blew- a massive yellow burst, flowed by a shockwave that passed through the city in a flash.

"That's not good." Natasha said.

The wave of dark matter then passed through them.

Nathan was covered by a red aura as he fell to his knees and gripped his head in pain, shouting as his mind was bombarded by memories that were not his own. Memories of a life he didn't remember live.

 _"And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important!"_

 _"Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You're not gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage someday"_

 _"I'm not gonna run away, I never go back on my word! That's my **nindō** : my ninja way!"_

 _"It's almost unbearable, isn't it… the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling; I've been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself, and I won't let anyone hurt them. That's why I'll never give up. I will stop you, even if I have to kill you! They saved me from myself. They rescued me from my loneliness. They were the first to accept me as who I am. They're my friends."_

 _"Just give up… on trying to make me give up!"_

 _"Then I will break that curse. If there's such thing as peace, I will find it. I won't give up!"If you attack Konoha, I will have to fight you… So save up your hatred and take it all on me, I'm the only one who can take it! It's the only thing I can do! I will shoulder your hatred and die with you! Because I'm your friend!"_

 _"You're not the monster fox anymore. You're one of my teammates from Konoha… **Kurama.** "_

 _"Quit it with your stupid reasoning! I meant to say that I'll stand any pain for my friends! I'm not gonna give up on them! It might just be me being selfish, but… not having my friends here… is the most painful thing for me! **Period!** "_

 _"Hinata… This big idiot finally understands… The real meaning of the scarf you gave to me when you went with Toneri… I know now, from the scarf you painstakingly knitted and took so long to finish, that your love can't be unravelled so easily… Wait for me… This whole time, you always loved me for the way I am… Now, as a man, there's something I must tell you… Hinata, I swear I **will** save you!"_

Meanwhile, Natasha was one the floor, writhing in pain, and Skye was hunched over.

Nathan's pain finally stopped and he looked to the others. "Natasha, Skye," He said as he reached out to aid help them.

All of sudden, Skye threw her head back and screamed, a vibrational wave erupting from her body, causing them all to fly out the window.

"Grab on!" Nate shouted as he grabbed both of them in each arm. Before quickly trying to figure out how to land. He didn't need to though, as a blue stormy portal opened up beneath him and swallowed all three of them up.

 **Chapter end**

 **So, Kara was crucial to Nate's recovery from his episode. Nate and Skye have been exposed to the Dark matter, and will gain powers, along with Natasha. Nate also will have to deal with the memories of his past life as Naruto Uzumaki.**

 **Also, DO NOT ASK for me to give Nathan his chakra back. IT IS NOT HAPPENING, so don't ask.**

 **I will make one more chapter of this, then I'm going to work on some other stories.**


	30. Different Earth

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth 0 Laurel, Earth 2 Laurel, Lena Luthor,**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Poison Ivy, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), McKenna Hall, Harley Quinn, Evelyn Sharp,**

 **Can't make up my bloody mind: Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Amanda Waller, Eliza Danvers, Caitlin Snow, Isabel Rochev, Alex Danvers, Dinah Drake, Loise Lincoln aka Killer Frost,**

 **Chapter 30: Different Earth  
**

 _ **Last Time on Black Arrow**_

 _The wave of dark matter then passed through them._

 _Nathan was covered by a red aura as he fell to his knees and gripped his head in pain, shouting as his mind was bombarded by memories that were not his own. Memories of a life he didn't remember live._

 _"And my future dream is to be the greatest Hokage! Then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody. Somebody important!"_

" _Don't underestimate me! I don't quit and I don't run! You can act tough all you want! You're not gonna scare me off! No way! I don't care if I do get stuck as a genin for the rest of my life! I'll still be Hokage someday"_

 _"I'm not gonna run away, I never go back on my word! That's my_ _nindō_ _: my ninja way!"_

 _"It's almost unbearable, isn't it… the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling; I've been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself, and I won't let anyone hurt them. That's why I'll never give up. I will stop you, even if I have to kill you! They saved me from myself. They rescued me from my loneliness. They were the first to accept me as who I am. They're my friends."_

 _"Just give up… on trying to make me give up!"_

 _"Then I will break that curse. If there's such thing as peace, I will find it. I won't give up!"If you attack Konoha, I will have to fight you… So save up your hatred and take it all on me, I'm the only one who can take it! It's the only thing I can do! I will shoulder your hatred and die with you! Because I'm your friend!"_

 _"You're not the monster fox anymore. You're one of my teammates from Konoha…_ _Kurama._ _"_

 _"Quit it with your stupid reasoning! I meant to say that I'll stand any pain for my friends! I'm not gonna give up on them! It might just be me being selfish, but… not having my friends here… is the most painful thing for me!_ _Period!_ _"_

 _"Hinata… This big idiot finally understands… The real meaning of the scarf you gave to me when you went with Toneri… I know now, from the scarf you painstakingly knitted and took so long to finish, that your love can't be unravelled so easily… Wait for me… This whole time, you always loved me for the way I am… Now, as a man, there's something I must tell you… Hinata, I swear I_ _will_ _save you!"_

 _Meanwhile, Natasha was one the floor, writhing in pain, and Skye was hunched over._

 _Nathan's pain finally stopped and he looked to the others. "Natasha, Skye," He said as he reached out to aid help them._

 _All of sudden, Skye threw her head back and screamed, a vibrational wave erupting from her body, causing them all to fly out the window._

" _Grab on!" Nate shouted as he grabbed both of them in each arm. Before quickly trying to figure out how to land. He didn't need to though, as a blue stormy portal opened up beneath him and swallowed all three of them up._

 _ **Chapter Start**_

Nathan, Natasha, and Skye came out of the portal, 3 miles above the ground in broad daylight. From wherever they were, it looks like they were falling towards a desert.

"WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Skye screamed as she was panicking.

"NO, WE ARE NOT! HOLD ON TO ME!" Nathan shouted as he concentrated. ' _I fucking hate using magic.'_ He snidely thought to himself.

A black smoke erupted from him as it covered all three of them. This trail of black smoke hit the ground softly, causing a massive cloud of it to appear. When the smoke cleared, Nathan was found standing on his feet, Natasha sitting on the ground, and Skye had vomited. They were not used to magic, so the experience would naturally leave them disoriented.

"Think next time," Skye stopped as she vomited, "You could warn us."

"Sorry," Nathan apologized. "I didn't have time to warn you."

"What….was that?" Natasha asked, barely keeping herself from vomiting. It was surreal, having her body turned into smoke and then put back together just the way it was before.

"Magic." Naruto growled.

"Seriously!? That's a thing too!?" Skye asked as she hugged herself. She was shaking alot.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Honestly, the other's don't know about that I am quite skilled in Darkness and Shadow Magic, but I despise using it. Personal Reasons," Nathan said, as he moved to see the road.

"Come on, we need to find civilization." Nathan said as he suddenly gritted his teeth and closed his eyes as he was slammed with a memory he never had experienced.

 _Memory_

" _If you hurt my sensei," said a weird younger look-alike of himself dressed in orange, "I'll kill you."_

" _Show me what you got, Nine Tailed Fox!" the silver haired ninja, Mizuki, shouted._

 _Naruto then created one thousand clones and beat him to a bloody pulp, and the following morning was awarded the headband he had craved for over 6 years._

Memory End

"Damn it," Nathan growled. "I have got to see Constantine soon. Before this gets out of hand."

Thankfully a car was coming their way. "Come, on. This might be the only chance we get." Nathan said as he helped them both up. The three walked up to the road and he put himself in the way of the car.

In order to avoid hitting Nathan and getting in trouble with the law, the guy driving the Blue 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Coupe stopped.

He got out and started shouting at Nathan. "What the fuck, man!? Are you stupid!? Get off the road!"

"Look, pal. I'm sure you are a wonderful man," Nathan said as he grasped the mans neck and broke it, "But right now, I can't afford to let my morals get in the way."

Nathan tossed the body aside and found his wallet and opened the car. "Come on," He motioned for them.

As Skye got in, she asked, "Did you have to kill him?"

"We don't what happened to us or where we are at. Until we do, we can't take chances. Otherwise, I would totally let him live." Nathan assured her. He extended his had and shadows gathered around the mans body and consumed it, until nothing was left.

Nathan stared at his hand. ' _In the last month alone, I have used my magic more times than I've used it in 4 years combined. I don't like what this means.'_ He thought to himself as he got in and drove the car.

He headed north. While he did, he was thinking to himself. It's pretty clear they were in America, since everything looked and screamed American, but it was noon out right now, and it was night time when the accelerator went off, so he was wondering what had happened.

As he drove, he saw a city. It looked like Starling City. "Hey, is that Starling?" Skye asked.

"It is. I know what road we are on now." Nathan said.

It was definitely Starling when they got into town. But when he saw the welcome sign, he stopped and pulled over.

"This can't be right." Nathan said as he got out. On the sign, it said "Star City: Renamed in honor of Dr. Ray Palmer. 1981-2015." ' _It's Christmas 2013 back home. There is no way that this is possibly right.'_

Nathan thought long and hard about what this meant. Someone didn't just put this up here. There were two very likely and possible explanations. Either A. They had somehow time traveled into the future. Or B. They had somehow traveled to a alternate reality. Neither possible explanation was good.

Nathan got back in the car and drove further into the city. He stopped at the next gas station, and pulled his wallet out and hand 20 bucks to Natasha. "Nat, I need you to go in there and buy us 3 pairs of black baseball caps and sunglasses."

"Why?" Natasha asked.

"Because there's two possible explanations for where we are at, and neither one is good for me. Until we've narrowed it down, I need to stay inconspicuous. So please." He asked and she took the money.

She came back later with 3 baseball caps and three pairs of sunglasses. Nathan put his cap and sunglasses on.

"okay ladies, we have 4 more stops to make. The library, the bank, Walmart, and the find a place to sleep tonight." Nathan told them, but then the car started shaking and Skye was moaning in pain and hugging herself.

"Daisy." Nathan said as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're going to be okay. Just breathe." Daisy did so and she calmed down after a minute. And the shaking stopped.

Nathan then drove them to the library. He pulled up and stopped the car. They got out and walked in. The guy that Nathan killed thankfully had a library card. He handed the librarian the card.

She looked at it and noticed something was off. "I'm sorry sir, but-" Naruto pulled his glasses down and looked into her eyes for a moment. Both of their eyes became pitch black before returning to normal.

"Is there a problem, miss?" Nathan asked innocently.

"N-No, sir. No problem. Enjoy your time at the Star City Library." She said monotonously as the three left to the computers.

"What did you do to her?" Skye asked.

"You don't want to know." Nathan said, ending the conversation.

The arrived at the computers.

Nathan to his companions and said, "Okay, search all the major events that occurred in the last 1000 years."

 **2 hours later**

Nathan slammed his hands down in frustration and rubbed his head. He and the girls had searched for hours, only to find the world was basically the same.

Nathan then decided to look more closely at Star City. There had to be a reason he landed here. Every one of the big things was different so maybe he landed here because the reason it was different was personal to him.

Nathan looked and found many news articles from the last 4 years in Star City about a arrow-shooting vigilante. First the Hood, then the Arrow, and now the Green Arrow. Only an idiot wouldn't be able to realize they were the same person. He read that the Undertaking actually had occurred here, a virus outbreak occurred last year and-

"Fucking hell," Nathan said as he read the article about the Siege. His worst fears were true. Slade was alive. And he had come to the city to destroy with an army of Mirakuru soldiers. Only, it was reported that the Arrow and a group of black clad archers, which were seen in the streets recently again, had defeated the group of soldiers. And Slade, called Deathstroke, wasn't seen again.

' _How could I have **possibly** let this happen!?'_ Nathan thought in frustration as he read reports of soldiers attacking the city in recent news. Plus, no kill shots after the Undertaking, and even before then, the deaths didn't exceed 30! No Huntress either, Helena had been arrested for trying to kill her father. And recently, the League was seen fighting and killing each other in the streets!

"M-Mom," Nathan said in shock and despair as he read the article about his mothers death. She was apparently killed by a katana in front of her daughter and son.

Didn't help that Tommy was also found dead during the Undertaking.

Quickly composing himself, he typed furiously to find the cause. He found it.

Nathan sat back in his chair, realization and it's implications striking him like a bolt of lightning. Daisy and Natasha notice his distress and looked to see what it was.

It was his google search entry. His date of death was September 27, 2007. The same day that the Gambit went down. The same day that his father died.

This was all confirmed by Oliver Queen in a hearing on October 14th, 2012, who survived on an island in the North China Sea for 5 years.

His brother was alive. He was the Arrow in this world…..

…..and he had failed this city.

Nathan shook his head. He couldn't think about that right now. He needed to help his companion's lay low. He got up and motioned for the other to follow him, before deleting the search history.

They all got back in the car.

Daisy decided to ask, "AC, are you going to be okay?" She was worried for him. She also didn't understand what was going on and was frightened.

Nathan looked at his hand and noticed it was shaking.

He turned to her with confident smile in an attempt to reassure her. "I'll be okay, Skye."

Nathan drove them into a parking garage. He stopped the car and undid the seatbelt.

"Why did you bring us here?" Natasha asked.

"This parking lot is exactly two blocks from Starling City Bank. And we are currently short on cash." Nathan said as he stepped out.

"Your stealing from the bank? But these are our people!" Skye protested and he noticed some shaking began again. He walked around to her side, opened the door, and knelt before her.

"Skye," he said as he pulled her into a hug, comforting her, "we are currently in a precarious and difficult situation. But I promise you, I have not forgotten who I am and who I protect. I will give anything back that I steal, once this is all over. I promise you."

This seemed to convince her, as the shaking stopped.

Nathan shared a glance with Natasha, wordlessly telling her to keep an eye on Skye. Nathan then disappeared from sight.

 **10 minutes later**

Nathan came back with a duffel bag filled with 100,000 dollars.

Nathan threw it in the trunk while pulling out 10,000 dollars.

The next stop was Walmart, where he bought a laptop. He still needed to keep up to date on current happenings and do more research. Everyone also bought five fresh pairs of clothes.

Their next stop was Subway, where they got dinner.

Their final stop, was the Embassy hotel. Nathan booked them a spacious 2 bedroom hotel room for a week, with free breakfast and happy hour.

Nathan lay on the bed after his shower, looking at the ceiling, the events of the day playing in his mind. A necklace of a black arrow dangled around his neck, the edge of the arrow head being blood red.

He looked to the others. Skye had already fallen asleep, as Nathan had given her some melatonin, to help her sleep.

Nathan sat on the side of the bed as Natasha sat next to him.

"I'm worried about Skye," Natasha said slowly. She a bit uncomfortable with being open about her feelings, given that she was the worlds best female spy and assassin.

"I am too. I'm concerned for all of us. That's why we need to figure out how to get back." Naruto said, with Natasha looking at him.

"Why did you hold out on us earlier?" she asked.

"Skye's causing mini earthquakes whenever she is upset, you're dealing with God knows what, and I am having flashbacks of a life I didn't live. We had too much on our plate for me to be explaining that we are technically in an alternate dimension." Nathan said.

"Get some sleep. You need it," Naruto said as he got up and opened the window.

"And where are you going?" Natasha asked.

"I need to find my brother. He's obviously the Green Arrow, but I have no idea where his base his. I'm going to draw him out and track him back to his base." Nathan said.

"And how do you intend to do that? You don't exactly have any arrows." Natasha noted, only for him to press his arrowhead necklace, and his Black Arrow suit materialized onto his body, with a new graphene framed bow in his hand. "You carry that with you everywhere?"

" **Always. I'll be back later. Close the window when I leave."** Nathan said as he jumped out the window.

 **Next day**

 **Afternoon**

Turns out, finding Oliver was almost too easy. He hacked the frequency he and his team were using for their comms and listened in.

He heard them mention Merlyn's name as they were infiltrating his base. Seriously? What the hell was Merlyn still doing alive!? This is why he prefers to chop off the head with high ranking members of the League. You never know when one of them ingested water from the Lazarus Pit so they could come back to life a few hours later.

When they mentioned the Khushu Idol, Nathan had bad flashbacks about those six months during his 4th year he spent taking out Shadowspire completely. What was Oliver doing messing with an Idol like that? That shit is dangerous.

He quickly figured who the others were. Spartan was John Diggle. Speedy was Thea. Black Canary was Laurel. Nathan could not believe Oliver was letting his little sister and ex risk their lives! More importantly, he was disgusted to see his brother was not killing anybody! This job was not for the faint of heart! The only way to protect the city, truly protect it, was to put an arrow in every single enemy. If you let your enemies live, they will cause trouble and plot to kill you. Just look at what happened with Julius Caesar! He was a perfect example of why you always kill your enemies if they are actively plotting against you!

Andy Diggle. Now, it was obvious to Naruto that the man was a double agent for who ever he was working for. Nathan could tell that because he had worked as a spy for some time and he now dealt with two on a regular basis. He knew how to read them. Andy must have been looking for the last piece of the idol.

"So, what do you intend to do now?" Natasha asked as they hugged and comforted Skye.

"Wait until their enemy makes a move. Then, save them, and then get an in with them. We don't have the resources to figure out what's going on with us and how to get back home, so I need to make him see that he can trust me." Nathan said as a beep caught his attention.

He pressed his ear piece, and it seems they were heading to Iron Heights to deal with a prison break. "And I believe the opportunity just arrived. Stay with Skye, okay?" He told her, which she nodded as he left.

 **Iron Heights prison**

 **A little later**

"…But on the count of three, I'm going to turn that wall into a Jackson Pollock painting with his brains." Damien Darhk said as he pointed the gun as his secret agent. At the 2nd count, Oliver and Diggle dropped their weapons. A prison guard came up behind each of them and held a knife to their throats.

"Now, was that so hard?" Damien asked needlessly.

"I believe you have something for me." Damien said to Andy. Andy was let go, and he pulled out the missing piece of the Khushu idol.

"An—Andy", John said, betrayal within his voice.

"I'm sorry, man." Andy apologized as he gave Darhk the piece for the gun, then point the gun at Oliver. "I've been tracking your movements for months. I know everywhere you been. All I needed to hear was that it was you that hid the stone."

"Was there ever a chance for you?" John asked.

"Your brother's way beyond reach, Mr. Diggle." Damien said as he set the final piece, completing the idol again. "It's all over now."

A bow string was drawn and two red arrows were inpaled in his stomach. Thea appeared in the doorway. "Took the words right out of my mouth!"

The fighting began again. Damien pulled the arrows out of his stomach.

"I need to sacrifice." He muttered to himself as he placed his hands on the idol and it glowed.

Oliver and the other continued to beat up the guards.

"Not enough. You know what to do." Damien said to Andy, who shot two of the inmates dead.

"Kanjigar septum vohnostrum." Damien chanted as he knelt down and absorbed their lifeforce, healing his wounds.

He then used his death-powered telekinesis to hold Oliver and his team in place.

"Ha ha ha! Ohh! Oh, I feel so much better." Damien said as the other inmates picked themselves up.

"Hey. I am sorry about your buddies, but omelets and eggs and all of that, but I know how to make it up to you, though." Damien said to the inmates before he gestured with his arms flamboyantly. "Who wants to take a walk outside?"

" **No one,"** came a dark voice as Malcolm was thrown into the room, his back hitting the wall as he groaned., " **Because not one of these scum are leaving this prison alive."**

At that moment screams of horror and the squelching of bodies being torn to shreds were heard outside for a few minutes as black smoke and shadows blocked all the exits out of the room.

"Okay, this is odd," Damien muttered to himself, wondering what the hell was going on.

Then, the shadows moved into the room and consumed the inmates still inside, including the fool with a stitched mouth. The squelching and tearing apart of body parts was all too obvious. Not to mention the screams. It terrified Laurel and Thea, and Oliver was a bit nervous about what was going on, as he had never seen anything like it.

Then an arrow came out of the smoke and pierced Andy Diggle in the face. He fell to the ground, dead.

"Andy!" John shouted in shock. His brother may have betrayed them, but he still cared about him.

" **You shouldn't mourn for him, Mr. Diggle. After all, he betrayed you."** came that voice again.

"Okay, this is getting annoying. Who are you!?" Damien demanded angrily, while trying to use telekinesis on the smoke, to no effect.

" **The dead don't need answers,"** came the voice as a trail of smoke came from one of the blocked entrances, and knocked Damien aside, and into the wall. It then grabbed Malcolm by the throat and lifted him up against the wall.

It was then that the smoke seemingly turned into a man. The man, to the other occupants, looked like a black and red version of Oliver's suit.

"Oh, great," Damien complained. "Let's me guess. Coming to save your idol?"

The black version of Green Arrow turned his head, only for the others to see that his face was completely covered by a mask. " **Pipe down, scum. I'll be with you in a minute."**

He turned back to Malcolm and said, " **You're supposed to be dead. How is it that you're not, I wonder?"**

"What can I say? A Magician never reveals his secrets." Malcolm struggled to get out.

" **Doesn't matter. You won't be coming back from this."** Nathan said as he threw him down to the ground and stomped on Malcolm's lower back so hard that his foot went through the mans spine and guts, causing him to scream in pain and cough up blood.

Even Nathan was a bit shocked. He thought he only put enough force to break his spine, but he went right through him. Deciding to deal with it later and not waste a moment, he reached down and ripped Malcolm's head off his body with his spine still attached, seemingly, without any effort.

Thea, Laurel, and John were visibly disturbed by the brutality of the action, and Thea even threw up her lunch. Oliver and Damien managed to maintain their composure, but Damien was panicking. His master plan was falling apart at the seams.

The Black Arrow let the head drop and turn to Damien. Damien scrambled to his feet and began his chanting, trying to affect him with the magic he got from the Khushu idol. The Black Arrow kept walking closer. He eventually stopped right in front of the idol, **"I'm sorry. Was that supposed to do something?"**

"How are you not affected!?" Damien demanded.

The Black Arrow placed his hand on the idol. " **There is only death…And I am it's master."** He said ominously as the idol began to crack and break apart until it exploded in a show of light, causing the others to close their eyes. When the light died down, they noticed they were free and saw that the idol was nothing but dust.

Damien's eyes were wide and in complete shock. "It's not possible! The Khushu Idol is indestructible!"

" **Only to a small mind like yourself. Everything can be destroyed. Some objects just have a specific way."** Black Arrow said as he stalked closer to Damien.

"Wait, he is a prisoner here. He-" John tried to say, only to be interrupted when the Black Arrow delivered a swift uppercut to Damien's head, that caused everything from the base of his neck up to explode in a shower of blood, gore, and bone. Damien's headless stump squirted a little blood before it fell to the floor. The Black Arrow pulled out a turpentine arrow and shot it at Damien's corpse, igniting it.

As the flames licked the body of his adversary, Oliver nocked an arrow at the Black Arrow and shouted, "Who are you?"

He was ignored as the Black Arrow turned, nocked an arrow, and fired an explosive arrow at the wall, punching a man-sized hole right through it. Oliver fired his arrow, hoping to stun the man and stop him from escaping.

However, the Black Arrow caught the arrow without looking and snapped it in half. He looked at him, " **You've got a lot to learn, brother."**

The shock of his statement was all he needed to slip away.

 **Oliver's Arrow Cave**

 **Later**

Oliver, John, Thea and Laurel came down to the lair.

"Oliver, what the hell was that back there!?" Diggle demanded.

"I don't know John." Oliver said. He was in shock, like Thea and Laurel, about the brother comment by his lookalike and trying to figure out what it meant.

"Damn it, Oliver! My brother is dead! Dead! And apparently, you have more secrets that are still coming to light! I want answers!" John shouted and Laurel finally had enough.

"Mind your tone, John! You're just angry that Ollie was right not to trust Andy." Laurel reprimanded.

" **Well, isn't this cute?"** came Black Arrow's voice, as the computer chair turned around to see him sitting there. They were stunned as he had slipped past their security undetected.

" **Your security is pitiful. I could have broken in here in my sleep,"** Black Arrow said as he caught the arrow Thea shot at him. " **That wasn't nice, Speedy."**

"You killed Malcolm! Why!?" Thea said, still in shock over her father's death.

" **And why the hell do you care? He's a monster. He killed your father. He killed his own son and 500 other people with his ridiculous Undertaking. No one's going to miss him."** Black Arrow said.

" **Now,"** Black Arrow said as he got up, " **I'm here to talk. And considering I just saved your lives and ended basically every threat to this city, you owe me that much."**

None of them made a move. Oliver made the move first, put his bow down and arrow back in his quiver. Slowly, the others followed suit.

" **You can take your masks off too. I already know that Green Arrow is Oliver Queen, Speedy is Thea Queen, Black Canary is Laurel Lance, and Spartan is Mr. John Diggle."** He suggested/ordered. Seeing no point in resisting, they did so.

"Who are you?" Oliver asked.

" **Someone from your past,"** Black Arrow as he pulled his hood down.

" **But you can start,"** Black Arrow said as he pressed something behind his ear. His masks melted away to reveal the face of Nathaniel Queen, shocking the three that knew him, "By explaining what the hell is going on around here."

 **Chapter End**

 **Figured this was a good place to stop. Need to space this out for at least one more chapter.  
**


	31. Brothers

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth 0 Laurel, Earth 2 Laurel, Lena Luthor,**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Poison Ivy, McKenna Hall, Evelyn Sharp, Older Nora,**

 **Can't make up my bloody mind: Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl,** **Indigo(After being reprogrammed),**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Amanda Waller, Eliza Danvers, Caitlin Snow, Isabel Rochev, Alex Danvers, Dinah Drake, Loise Lincoln aka Killer Frost,**

 _ **Chapter 31: Brothers**_

 _ **Last Time on Black Arrow**_

 _Oliver, John, Thea and Laurel came down to the lair._

 _"Oliver, what the hell was that back there!?" Diggle demanded._

 _"I don't know John." Oliver said. He was in shock, like Thea and Laurel, about the brother comment by his lookalike and trying to figure out what it meant._

 _"Damn it, Oliver! My brother is dead! Dead! And apparently, you have more secrets that are still coming to light! I want answers!" John shouted and Laurel finally had enough._

 _"Mind your tone, John! You're just angry that Ollie was right not to trust Andy." Laurel reprimanded._

 _"_ _ **Well, isn't this cute?"**_ _came Black Arrow's voice, as the computer chair turned around to see him sitting there. They were stunned as he had slipped past their security undetected._

 _"_ _ **Your security is pitiful. I could have broken in here in my sleep,"**_ _Black Arrow said as he caught the arrow Thea shot at him. "_ _ **That wasn't nice, Speedy."**_

 _"You killed Malcolm! Why!?" Thea said, still in shock over her father's death._

 _"_ _ **And why the hell do you care? He's a monster. He killed your father. He killed his own son and 500 other people with his ridiculous Undertaking. No one's going to miss him."**_ _Black Arrow said._

 _"_ _ **Now,"**_ _Black Arrow said as he got up, "_ _ **I'm here to talk. And considering I just saved your lives and ended basically every threat to this city, you owe me that much."**_

 _None of them made a move. Oliver made the move first, put his bow down and arrow back in his quiver. Slowly, the others followed suit._

 _"_ _ **You can take your masks off too. I already know that Green Arrow is Oliver Queen, Speedy is Thea Queen, Black Canary is Laurel Lance, and Spartan is Mr. John Diggle."**_ _He suggested/ordered. Seeing no point in resisting, they did so._

 _"Who are you?" Oliver asked._

 _"_ _ **Someone from your past,"**_ _Black Arrow as he pulled his hood down._

 _"_ _ **But you can start,"**_ _Black Arrow said as he pressed something behind his ear. His masks melted away to reveal the face of Nathaniel Queen, shocking the three that knew him, "By explaining what the hell is going on around here."_

 **Chapter Start**

Oliver Queen of Earth 1.5 was not the best brother, even after he came back from 5 years of Hell. When he and his brother were 15, they lost their grandfather Gregory. He had been a great grandfather and him and Nate could be themselves around him. Not as the heirs to the Queen Family, but as just Oliver and Nathan. So when he died, both brothers became self-centered jackasses, who drank, partied and slept around with any woman with firm tits and a tight fit.

Yet, during the 2 years Oliver and Laurel dated had been amazing for him. Oliver, when he was with Laurel, was the happiest he had been since his grandfather had been died. In fact, Oliver had been so happy that he and Laurel had helped Sara and Nathan get together a year before that fateful boat trip.

That year before the shipwreck, Oliver and Laurel were really getting serious. Laurel was talking about moving in with Oliver somewhere in the city, but Oliver being Oliver, he didn't do serious. And he started doing everything her could to hurt Laurel or dissuade her. When the drugs, partying and alcohol didn't work, he started cheating on her behind her back. He even got one of the women pregnant and she ended up keeping the baby, which resulted in his son William.

Nathan had been so angry with Oliver that when he caught Oliver cheating on Laurel again on the boat, he lost it.

 **Flashback**

 _Nathan counting the thunder in his room on the yacht when he opened his eyes and walked outside looking at the storm that was raging "I've got a bad felling about this." he said to himself walking inside to see his dad and Oliver talking "You know, son that is not going to end well, for either of them or for you."_

 _"He'll figure it out on his own." Nate said getting their attention._

 _"What jealous?" Oliver smirked, which made Nathan get in his face._

 _"Of what!? The fact that you just ruined your relationship with the woman that is my oldest friend or the fact that the only woman who ever loved you is going to tear you a new asshole right before she dumps your worthless ass, which I can't wait to watch!" He said causing Oliver to frown at his slightly more muscular brother._

 _"Boys, boys, please." Robert said causing them to look at him_

 _"We should head back dad, I got a terrible feeling about this storm and I'm done with his bullshit." Nate said.._

 _"You said that when we came on board." Oliver replied as Nate looked at his dad with a frown._

 _"Relax, we are heading back now." Robert said causing him to nod his head as Robert walked off._

 _"You're such a pussy." Oliver said to his little brother, which made Nathan grab Oliver by the scruff of his shirt and pin him against the wall of the boat, before punching Oliver in the face several times._

 _"The only reason this pussy isn't beating you to a pulp is because dad's on board. All you are is a worthless playboy whose only saving grace is the fact that he was born into money." He searched his brothers pockets until he found the photo of Laurel and took it from him. "She loves your worthless ass, for some ridiculous reason that I can't fathom, and I will never forgive you for what you've done to her. As far as I'm concerned, you're better off dead!" He retorted, walking away from a glaring Oliver who scoffed and walked back to his lover._

 **Flashback End**

Oliver had gotten the picture of Laurel back from Sara, who had gotten it from his brother before he died.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Inside the yacht, Sara Lance lay back on Nathan's bed, clothed in only a black silk robe with floral patterns and white lacy underwear, while she talked to her father over the phone._

 _"Yeah, Dad, college is great." She lied. "No, me and my new roommate totally hit it off." She grinned. "We're like besties. Ok. Yeah, dad, I got to get back to chem lab."_

 _Nathan stormed into the room and sat on the bed as Sara tried to wrap up the call. "Yes. It looks like I got a long night ahead of me. Love you, Dad. Bye." She hung up and tossed the phone to Nathan, who let it hit him._

 _"You don't have to lie to him, you know", Nathan said as he glared at door._

 _Sara took note of Nathan's angry expression, "What happened?"_

 _"It's Oliver. I caught him cheating on Laurel again." Nathan said in anger as he gave Laurel picture to her. "She's the best thing that ever happened to him and he has the nerve to do this to her. It makes me so furious!"_

 _Sara said nothing, though it angered her that Oliver was cheating on Laurel. She may not get along with Laurel that much, but she didn't want to see her sister cheated on by the man she loved._

 _She pulled him to her. "Let me make it better." Nathan allowed himself to be pulled into a kiss when the thunder cracked the air above them. "Did you hear that?" she asked nervously. "It's getting closer."_

" _Not very scientific, is it?" Nathan teased._

 _"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Mr. Ivy League graduate?" she asked as he brought her into his lap._

" _I know a lot of things. Such as running a business, how to be better than my brother, and the fact that I love you." Nathan said sincerely._

 _Sara smiled and they kissed some more, and suddenly there was a loud crack of thunder. Sara broke away, slightly panicked. "Ok, that one was really close." She said nervously._

 _Suddenly, without warning, The boat was rocked apart by an explosion. Eyes widening, Nathan pushed Sara away from him as the wall split apart and a pipe ran Nathan through, the point coming out of his chest. Nathan gasped as blood filled his mouth. He reached the for the pipe that was sticking out of his chest. But within seconds, he fell limp, the light going out behind his eyes._

 _"Aah!" Sara screamed._

 _Oliver had left his woman that he had been cheating with alone for a bit when he headed the feminine scream and ran to see everyone running, as a red emergency light flashed repeatedly. Sprinting down the hallway he opened the door to see a pipe had fallen through Nathan's room and ran him through while Sara was on the ground sobbing._

 _"Sara! Come on, the ship is going down."_

 _'"Nate, he's dead!" Sara sobbed._

 _"Sara, if we don't move we will be too, now come on!" Oliver said just as the ship turned over causing him to fall over onto the wall and Sara fell through a window and water flooded the room, "Sara!" In the stormy ocean, Sara shot back above water. She gasped for breath, frantically thrashing about trying to keep her head above the rolling waves. She looked around and saw the 'Gambit' slipping into the ocean; heard Oliver cry out for her. "Oliver!" she shouted futilely._

 _ **Flashback End**_

Nathan's death had been the thing that had haunted Oliver all of his days. Nathan had been right. Oliver was probably better off dead, because that Oliver had brought only pain to everyone he met and he really hurt the people he loved. When Oliver came back from the island, he tried every day to be better. Not just as the Arrow but as Oliver. But his guilt over his brother's death was great. In fact, Laurel had not taken it well when he told her.

He still loved his brother though, and his true regret was that he was never able to make things right with him before he died.

So, to see his brother standing here in front certainly shocked him to his very tormented core.

"What's wrong Brother? You're looking a bit pale, almost like you've seen a ghost." Nathan quipped as he held his hands crossed behind his back.

"N-Nate?" Laurel asked in shock as he turned to her.

"Hey Laurel, you look like you are doing well, though I don't condone you being a part of all of this." Nathan said.

"Brother?" Thea asked.

"Hey Thea. You've really grown into a beautiful young woman," Nathan said.

"This can't be real. You're dead. I-I saw you die." Oliver breathed.

"Really?" Nathan quipped as he felt his face and shrugged, "I'm pretty sure I'm not dead."

Oliver quickly pulled and trained an arrow on Nathan. Thea, Laurel and John reacted in shock while Nathan looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye.

"Oliver. What are you doing?" Laurel quietly demanded.

"There is no way that this is Nathan. It's impossible. I saw the pipe sticking through his chest that killed him. His body is at the bottom of the North China Sea, so whoever this is, is a fraud!" Oliver growled.

' _Huh. So that's what happened to me. Well, that's just…dull.'_ Nathan thought before he retorted, "You mean like you failed to kill Malcolm Merlyn? You thought you killed him in the Undertaking, and then you find out he's still alive and **don't** immediately kill him? Good job on that, by the way."

Oliver didn't lower his bow and demanded, "Tell me something only you and I would know! Tell me the real reason we acted out in our youth."

Without even hesitating, Nathan responded, "When you and I were 15, we lost our grandfather Gregory, who we called Gigi. He had been a great grandfather to the both of us and we could be ourselves around him. Not as the heirs to the Queen Family, but as just Oliver and Nathan. So when he died, we became self-centered jackasses, who drank, partied and slept around with any woman that caught our fancy."

Oliver slowly lowered his bow and put away his arrow. Only Nathan would have really known that particular fact. Not even their parents were intelligent enough to figure it out. "How are you even here?" Oliver asked.

"Before I answer that, the three of you will regale me with tales of what you have been up to the last 9 years. The news articles only tell me so much." Nathan asked as he sat down in the computer chair.

"That's a long story." Laurel said.

"Oh, you got time." Nathan said as he looked at his wrist to check his watch. "In fact, Ollie won't having anyone running against him, right about…"

 **With Ruve Darhk**

Ruve was having dinner with her daughter. She was the secret wife of Damien Darhk. That was not what angered her though. Earlier today, she had secretly helped orchestrate the prison outbreak to get her husband out of jail and get some revenge on Team Arrow. But there had been reports that every single prisoner was killed. She just received a report on her phone that Damien Darhk, her secret husband had been among the casualties. Her anger was palpable, but she was doing her best not to explode in front of her daughter. What was worse was Damien's contingency plan. Every member of HIVE, aside from her and their daughter, had a kill switch in the back of their heads. Damien was a vindictive man and he felt that if HIVE failed to protect him, they didn't deserve to live. HIVE was all dead and Green Arrow would soon discover where all the missing people had gone.

"Mommy, when is daddy coming home?" little Nora said.

Ruve did not have the heart to tell her daughter that her father was not coming home. Before she could say anything though, she felt a tightness in her chest and in her upper back.

"Mommy, my chest hurts," Nora said as she clutched her heart, then fell out of her chair.

"Nora!" Ruve said in concern as she rushed to her daughter's side and felt for a pulse but did not feel any.

She pulled her phone and tried to call 911, but there was no signal. She threw her phone down in anger and tried to call out for help, but darkness took her like her daughter and she collapsed on the ground. As dead as her daughter.

 **With Team Arrow**

"…now." Nathan said as he looked at the four members of Team Arrow in the room.

"What did you do?" Thea asked hesitantly.

"Were you not listening? I told you, Oliver no longer has anyone to run against him." Nathan repeated cryptically.

"John, go check on Miss Adams," Oliver said without looking at John.

John looked at Oliver defiantly and said "Oliver-"

"John, don't argue with me." Oliver told him as he walked up and whispered in his ear, "We need to confirm what is going on with Ruve, and my brother clearly wants to know what me, Laurel, and Thea have been doing, which means he doesn't want you here. We saw what he did earlier to Malcolm and Darhk. It would not be a good idea to anger him right now."

John soon begrudgingly conceded and left. Nathan beckoned the three remaining members of the team to sit down.

 **3 hours later**

Nathan sat in the chair, absorbing the info that had been presented to him. He sat back in his chair and looked at them and asked one simple question. "Okay, I just have to ask. How can you three be so stupid?"

The three of them were shocked as he started. "I'll start with you Laurel. I understand that you wanted to honor your sister but you had no combat training when you started as the Black Canary."

"I had-" Laurel said but was interrupted.

"Self-defense lessons and some boxing lessons do not count. You had quite a few close calls in your first year, I'm told. You seem to be doing better, but I still don't think you have the right mindset for the job. There is also that drug addiction and drinking thing 2 years ago. I don't agree with what you did. I understand that you felt like the whole world was collapsing around you after Tommy's death and that was your only solace but that didn't make it right. I don't agree with it, but I do understand where you were coming from. Honestly, of the three of you, you are the least screwed up of this whole bunch. I think the question that you need to ask yourself is do you really want to keep risking your life out there when you can probably do more good as a lawyer?" Nathan asked before he turned to Thea.

"You're next Thea," He said as he continued, "Ok let's start with when Oliver first came back. You spent a good portion of the time being a stuck-up bitch. Apparently, you stopped for a while but when you found out you were Malcolm's daughter, you started being a bitch again." Nathan says.

"Well, Ollie was acting just like mom. He should have told me" Thea says defensively.

"Considering what you did since then, I have to think he made the right call. Then you ran off with Malcolm when he saved you in the Undertaking, despite knowing that he was a psychopath that murdered his own son and 500 innocent people, people with the same background as your boyfriend Roy," Nathan says, "Once returning to Star City, you lied to your brother and Roy about Malcolm."

"They lied about my parentage, so they have no ground to stand on" Thea says upset. Nathan takes a glass nearby and throws it at her. She screams and ducks, narrowly avoids it.

"Do not take that tone with me, young lady! You are not so old that I won't take you over my knee to teach you some humility! Mom should have done it more in your youth, because you grew up to be a spoiled brat who seems to only care about herself." Nathan growls. "And while we are on the subject, Thea, you are the only one here with no moral high ground. Protecting you from a secret you did **NOT** need to know is nowhere close to willingly leaving with a mass murdering terrorist, then lying to your family about it."

Thea just shuts up having no real defense.

"Once you discovered the truth about Malcolm using you to murder Sara, you apparently have flip-flopped back and forth on Merlyn of either treating him as a saint who can do no wrong or your worst enemy. Even then, you gave Malcolm more benefit of the doubt than your own brother when he was undercover in the League. You didn't even hesitate to shoot your own brother with an arrow" Nathan says.

"Are you done?" Thea asks.

"No. You need to understand something. And this goes you and Laurel as well, Oliver." Nathan said as he addressed them all. "Malcolm Merlyn may have been a good man once, but that man died the second Aunt Rebecca did. When he came back from the league, he was not only cold hearted, calculating and ruthless, but he was also insane and selfish. He murdered 500 people including his own son, and he would have killed 30 times that had Mom not sent that message on television. Did you know, Thea, that when presented with the opportunity to save your life, he chose instead to let you die so he could hold onto his power in the League." His revelation shocked Thea as she did not know that. Oliver had whispered that part to him, while Oliver glared at him for revealing that to Thea. "I killed him because the man was an irredeemable monster, unworthy of life. He deserved to die for every single one of the 500 people he murdered, and you all were fools to not immediately kill him when he showed up again!"

"Now, for you Oliver," Nathan said as he sat back. "Honestly, I don't have that many complaints for your first year, aside from you not killing as many of the people on the list. My big one though, is that you let Tommy's unfortunate death get to you and you ran away."

"After he found out my secret, you know what Tommy called me?" Oliver asked. "A murderer. He was right. My best friend died thinking that I was a murderer, and anyone that I kill dishonors his memory."

Nathan's facepalmed himself and made a show of dragging his hand down his face, all the while saying, "I swear, it's like I'm the only intelligent person in this damn family. My brother is the idiot who thought it was a better idea to cheat on the woman that loved him instead of talking things over with her. My stupid sister can't make up her bloody mind on the bastard that mind controlled her into killing someone she once considered an older sister. My oldest friend thinks the way to honor Sara was to risk her life in the field with no training and Sara thought the best way to get me to admit my feelings for her was to sleep with my brother, who was seeing her sister."

The three glared at him but he didn't care. "Oliver, you need to get over yourself. Tommy was going to die regardless what you did. He was already on deaths door. Him dying the way he did was an accident, pure and simple."

"What are you talking about?" Oliver asked in confusion.

"Tommy had stage 4 prostate cancer. He only had a few months left to live. Him dying when he did was an accident." Nathan said, shocking Oliver as he did not know that.

"Oh, and while I'm on the subject. You are **NOT** honoring Tommy by not killing your enemies. Honoring Tommy would have been killing Malcolm when he showed up again and making sure what happened him and the 500 casualties of the Undertaking never happened again, but instead you have allowed it to happen 2 more times! In you so-called quest to honor Tommie's memory, you have become a worse protector than when you first started." Nathan said, slamming Oliver over the head with his failures.

"Second year. You're major failure's include but are not limited to refusing to kill anybody with one exception, abandoning the list, not being there for Laurel to help her with her drug problem, letting Felicity stay on the team, not figuring out Slade had been creating Mirakuru soldiers until he basically showed up at your door, letting that Rochev whore takeover your company, LETTING SARA RUN BACK TO THE LEAGUE WHEN YOU WENT THROUGH ALL THAT TROUBLE TO GET HER OUT OF THERE AND LETTING SLADE LIVE WHEN HE **MURDERED OUR MOTHER**!" Nathan ended with a shout as those last two really pissed him off. It is ridiculous that Oliver just let Sara go when she was having a rough patch in adjusting to her new life outside the league. Those urges are not easy to suppress. It was hardly her fault. But instead, he let her run away and didn't even try to stop her. And letting Slade live? Oliver should have killed him for even daring to threaten his mother!

"Back Off! You have no right to yell at him like that!" Laurel shouted but her demeanor changed when Nathan rounded on her with his kyuubi eyes.

"HE NEEDS TO HEAR THIS!" Nathan shouted before he bit his tongue to calm himself down. He looked at Oliver and said. "Third year, you let Malcolm live when you found out he was alive, you let Palmer take your company from you, you dated Felicity, you let Malcolm bait you into challenging Ra's al Ghul in a duel you had no chance of winning and nearly lost your life, you let your team walk all over you when you got back, you risked your life to save Malcolm; A bastard that repeatedly betrays everyone and cannot be trusted with anything. You didn't immediately accept Ra's offer which caused a series events where Roy had to leave his life behind here to take the fall for your indecision and it got Thea killed because Ra's does not take no for an answer, which I know you are not the smartest in the world Oliver, but you should have realized that he was never going to take no for an answer. YOUR BIGGEST FUCK UP'S WERE GIVING THE LEAGUE TO MALCOLM **FUCKING** MERLYN! BASICALLY REWARDING THAT MONSTER FOR KILLING SARA BY GIVING HIM THE MOST POWERFUL ARMY IN THE WORLD AND THEN, YOU RAN OFF INTO THE SUNSET WITH FUCKING FELICITY SMOAK!"

"What is your problem with my brothers ex-fiancee!?" Thea demanded.

"SHE IS A GOD DAMN CYBER-TERRORIST!" Nathan shouted before he calmed down and told Oliver, "It wasn't that difficult to find, you just had to look hard enough."

He walked over to the computer and easily cracked the 12 digit passcode in seconds. "What the hell?" Nathan asked as he saw a bunch of programs running that weren't even needed. ' _No wonder he can't get anything done, his bitch of a tech support is distracted 80% of the time.'_ Nathan thought as he mass deleted all non-essential functions. He then pulled up everything on Felicity.

"Felicity was born in 1989, to Donna Smoak and Noah Kuttler, who is also widely considered by ARGUS to be the best hacker in the world. When she was very young, her father abandoned her and her mother. She reportedly lived in Las Vegas with her mother until she went to college at MIT."

"At a young age, Felicity became interested in computers, claiming to have been building them since she was 7. However, she was always fearful that she would wind up as a cocktail waitress like her mother and worked hard to escape from her circumstances. Due to their wildly different personalities, Felicity had a strained relationship with her mother. When she was 19, Felicity was ranked 2nd in the National Information Technology competition."

"During her senior year at MIT, Felicity dated fellow computer whiz Cooper Seldon. Both of them were members of a hacktivist group on campus, along with Cooper's roommate Myron Forest, as well as part of a cyber-goth subculture. Cooper apparently managed to successfully create a "super virus" which was originally meant for so-called " _ **noble"**_ actions - digitally defacing criminals, exposing government fraud. At one point, Cooper attempted to use the program to hack into the campus' infrastructure to delete all the student loans but he failed. Cooper was later arrested by the FBI for his hack attempt and he went to prison. Felicity tried to get him out by confessing she'd written the virus. However, Cooper had apparently already confessed. When Cooper was about to sentenced, he (allegedly) hung himself to Felicity's devastation. She apparently dyed her hair blonde after that."

"Now, what you may not know is that Felicity is the true creator of the Virus." Nathan said which shocked the three behind him.

"How do you even know that?" Oliver asked.

"Because I hunted him down and killed him, but not before torturing the information out of him, something you should be familiar with." Nathan pointed out. He had a clone hunt him down in this world and kill him, since he wasn't a part of HIVE.

"Before I killed him, he only gave me an alias, Ghost Fox Goddess. It wasn't until I started researching Felicity more in-depth that I managed to put a face to the alias, though it took me nearly 7 days of non-stop researching to do it. This is research you could have easily done since I know you learned how to be a decent Hacker while you were in Argus, Oliver. I know that you became quite proficient in handling programs and networks. You could easily hack a system to transfer bank accounts, acquire guarded information, and work around security programs."

"What does this virus do?" Laurel asked.

"It's called the X-axis bi-numeric algorithm. It's designed to infect every server on a network and give whoever is using it root access to any server infected by it. If you infected, say, FBI servers, with this virus, you could literally go in and take or do whatever the hell you want and they wouldn't even know you were there until it was too late. It's also completely undetectable. Even Argus virus protection software can't protect against this and that software is the best in the world."

"My god," Oliver breathed as he had no idea.

"Yes Oliver, you literally have the greatest threat to US national security walking around in your secret lair with free access to a computer. That's like giving Hitler access to modern technology and hoping he doesn't go conquer the world or use nuke's to blow up Israel." Nathan griped.

"I trust Felicity. She wouldn't do that." Oliver retorted.

"People can only refuse their nature for so long, Oliver. Kinda like what you've been doing the last 3 years." Nathan said.

"Don't even get me started on this year. If I list everything, I will be here all day. I'll try to keep it to the big ones. Okay, so first would definitely be the part where you ran away to live in the suburbs with Felicity for 4 months, abandoning this city. You apparently can't fight anymore because now thugs like Daniel Brickwell, rouge cops, and a Joker knockoff can give you a tough time. Seriously!? You were trained by Talia and Ra's al Ghul, two of the best fighters in the world, and you killed the latter, who WAS the best fighter in the world. You should be able to take out basically anyone like Daniel Brickwell or Anarchy, yet you can't even defeat them without help. You lost against Damien Darhk, a guy who ran from Ra's al Ghul like a bitch because he know's he couldn't take him out, multiple times and only survived by sheer dumb luck. You dated a woman that was a sociopathic control freak that shattered your heart into a thousand pieces after you sent your son away, who she freaked out over, and selfishly used a prototype chip, that could have helped thousands of lives, on herself just so she could walk again. You let Malcolm run rampart with the League and when you took it away from him, you didn't kill him, which led him to joining Damien Dahrk. And if I hadn't stepped in when I did, all this would led up to Laurel being killed."

"It's pathetic to watch. Talia would be disgusted with you if she saw you now. I know if I became as pathetic at you are right now, she would beat my ass to a pulp." Nathan said.

"Uhm, Ollie. Who's he talking about?" Thea asked curiously.

"Talia was the woman who trained me in my last year away before coming back. She found when I was having a rough go of it, and the man I was when I was the Hood." Oliver told her.

"How do you know Talia?" Oliver asked.

"I suppose this is where the mystery of me comes full circle." Nathan said as he pressed his ear and said, "You two can come down."

"Who are you talking two?" Oliver asked.

"Just a few friends that got stranded here with me." Nathan said as the doors opened and Skye and Natasha walked in, though Skye was hugging herself. The moment they stepped in, the building shook. Skye groaned in pain as Natasha helping her ton control her breathing as Skye calmed down and the earthquake stopped.

"She's not doing well, is she?" Nathan asked.

"No," Natasha as she whispered in his ear, "I think she's channeling it into herself."

Nathan widened in fear, as she was slowly killing herself. He decided to get on with it to get them the help they needed.

"Brother, who are these women?" Oliver asked.

"These are my teammates. This Natasha Romanova, known as the Black Widow, the deadliest female assassin that isn't in the League of Assassin's, and Daisy Johnson, my hacker. They got stranded here with me." Nathan said.

"Stranded?" Laurel asks.

"How much do you know about the multiverse theory?" He asked.

"You mean the theory that there are multiple versions of Earth out there? Wait, are you saying that…?" Laurel hesitated to say.

"And this is where the mystery of me comes full circle. On my earth, it was Oliver who died, because he cheated on Laurel with Sara and I never got together with her, so I'm the one that made it to Lian Yu, who took down Fryers and Shadowspire, who stopped General Shrieve, who put an arrow through Slade's eye, and who killed Kovar. I'm the one who came back home and stopped the Undertaking, because I enlisted the right kind of help; people who understand that protecting innocent lives is more important that not killing murderers, inflating your ego's, and your stupid morals. I was having a pretty decent 2nd year, until I was almost killed by a Mirakuru soldier and I took a small vacation with Natasha and Skye to see Barry, but then the Particle Accelerator blew up, and all three of us got hit with it. Now Daisy is causing mini-earthquakes, Natasha is going through god knows what, and I'm having weird memory flashes, so I while I would like to get your ass back on track, right now, I need an expert in Meta-humans and I was hoping you knew someone."

"Call Barry." Oliver told Laurel and she pulled her phone out.

"Wait, How is Barry going to help us?" Nathan asked as Laurel got off the phone.

"You'll see," Oliver smiled a little as a few minutes later, Barry ran in, causing any paper that wasn't held down to fly all over the place.

"Really need to get some paperweights, Ollie. I hate picking up all these papers everytime." Laurel quipped.

"Hey Oliver, Laurel said you had some meta-humans that needed help?" Barry asked as he pulled his mask off.

"Wait. It is you, Barry? Nathan asked in shock.

"Nate?" Barry asked in shock before he excitedly hugged his old friend that had been lost at sea.

"Barry, before you get excited, you might want to take a step back and hear what he has to say." Oliver said as his mind was reeling from all the revelations today and being smacked in the face with his failures.

 **Time Skip**

 **Two weeks later**

 **Central City**

Nathan was in the STAR LABS speeding room, meditating as all the objects in the room, all of which had a blue glow around them.

They had been here for two weeks and it had been quite an experience. Barry and Caitlin were at least happy to see him, despite not being their Nathan. Cisco and Wells did not really know him so they were all meh about it, though Cisco, Caitlin and Barry had been very helpful with figuring out their powers.

Skye's power was not causing earthquake's like he had thought, though that was an application of it. Her power was Vibrational Manipulation, which allowed her to manipulate and enhance vibrations, which can produce effects such as earthquakes and shockwaves. She also had gained apparently gained some Superhuman durability, as they had measured the amount and quality of vibrations she had been directing into herself, and it would have killed a normal person by that point. She was lucky to get away with only hairline fractures in her arms, which Nathan fixed with some quick Healing Magic. He, along with Cisco, Catilin and Barry, then helped her get control of her powers so they weren't reacting to her emotions and she was able to function normally without causing things to vibrate and could actively manipulate these vibrations, like she did when she caused an avalanche on a mountain and played with some faucet water to make it twist into a spiral.

Natasha learned that her powers were essentially proportionate to that of a human-sized spider. She gained many abilities like the ability to crawl on walls, allowing her to stick to a surface with any part of her body, like her back for example. She gained superhuman strength to were she could lift 20 tons and leap high into the air, superspeed to wear she could outrun an accelerating car on foot, superhuman stamina, durability, agility, equilibrium, reflexes, an enhanced immune system, and a healing factor. She could generate organic webbing from glands within her wrists, limited by her body's health and nutrition. These organic webs took nearly a week to dissolve and were plenty strong for allowing her to swing across rooftops and creating lines of that could not be easily broken. She also had Night Vision and gained a Psychological Awareness of her Environment. This allowed her to receive psychological awareness of her environment as a whole, allowing her to traverse across any environment without fear, even when blinded or in extremely dark conditions. She could ascertain non-threatening information. She was also able to immediately sense danger thanks to this, and her superhuman reflexes would allow her to automatically avoid the potential danger unless she consciously overrode those reflexes. Cisco nicknamed this her 'Spidey Sense', which she responded by webbing his mouth shut when he got annoying about it.

Naruto's powers were far different. He had gained a number of abilities, like the ability to open portals anywhere on earth, or to another planet in the universe and even across the Multiverse. He realized this when he conjured his first blue stormy portal and realized that it was his powers that were responsible for them being stuck here. When Cisco and Wells examined the energy, they stated wherever he was drawing his power from, his source of power might be unlimited. He could repair or power mechanisms of great power with this energy, like when he fixed the Particle Accelerator with his power. Aside for teleportation he could warp the fabric of space to generate powerful spatial pressure around his surroundings, capable of crushing, pulling and freezing with tremendous force in a manner akin to telekinesis enable him to manipulate and move objects with just a single gesture. He could also create black holes. He played around with it and learned how to phase and unphase objects out of space, rendering them incorporeal and just as easily make them corporeal again. He could also use this on himself as well. He could also conjure extremely strong blue energy force-fields. He also mastered his portal ability as he could decide what gets teleported alongside him, could decide how many people to take with him, and can even remove objects forcibly attached on his person, like his when he accidentally, teleported without his suit on, which lead a little bit of embarrassment and getting blushes from Skye and lusty looks from Natasha as they saw what he was packing down south when that happened.

The weirdest thing though was definitely his physical abilities. His Mirakuru strength, durability, speed, Stamina, and reflexes had skyrocketed far beyond what he was once capable of. He could still turn his powers off, but when they were on, it took a diamond needle to even pierce his skin, his healing factor worked even faster now, his strength, senses and speed were probably a match for a Kryptonian. He was able to confirm that his body was now 100% free of Mirakuru, since he checked his blood and there was no trace of it and the Mirakuru voices were finally gone.

There was, unfortunately, no explanation for these memory flashes though. Whatever was causing this, it was not psychological or physical.

Now that each of them had their powers under control, they could go home but there was still one thing he need to do before he left. He couldn't stay to fix Oliver but he knew someone who could.

He needed Talia.

 **Monastery of Talia's Cult**

 **Somewhere in the Himalaya's**

A blue, stormy portal opened up in front of the monastery, and Nathan walked out, dressed in winter gear. He examined the writing on the door and it translated to Demon, so he this was the right place. He opened the door and walked in to see a group of acolyte's. It was then that they noticed him and one took their facemask down.

"Where is Talia? I wish to speak with her," Nathan demanded.

"Who are you?" The female acolyte demanded.

"Call me a former student." Nathan said mockingly.

"Former. That means you are not welcome here." She said angrily trying to kick him but he pushed her leg aside before gripping both sides of her head and snapping her neck with no visible effort, letting the body drop to the ground uncaringly.

"Next." Nathan said as they all charged him. Naruto wasn't in the mood for games and decapitated the first with a slap, spartan kicked another in the chest so hard that it collapsed their lungs, backhanded another that tired to hit him so hard their jaw flew right off, and plunged his hand into chest of the fourth one and ripped their heart out.

"Don't make me say it again. Where. Is. Talia?" Nathan asked more forcefully.

More acolytes appeared to attack him foolishly when they were were stopped by a familiar voice, "Hold!"

The acolytes turned to see Talia standing on the ledge. "You would only be running to your deaths. Leave us," She orders and they walk out, leaving the two of them.

"I would apologize for my students enthusiasm but they are right. You should not have come to this place." Talia says as she steps down to his level.

"Well, Talia, it was difficult to find you." Nathan said.

"I know who you are, brother of Oliver Queen. Oliver never spoke much about you, but the way you two left things when you died was his greatest regret. So, it piques my interest as to how you are alive." Talia asked.

"My being alive has little to do with our business today. I'm here about Oliver." Nathan asked.

"My business with Oliver concluded 4 years ago." Talia said.

"Yeah, well your student has lost his way. He needs to be retrained. I'd do it myself, but I have other arrangements that prevent me from doing so. You were able to his pull his head from his ass when he was running away from everything and turn him into the lethal effective killing machine he was before his business with Kovar was concluded. I need you to do it again. I imagine it will be much easier this time."

"I will not help Oliver Queen ever again." Talia said bitterly.

"And why is that?" Nathan said.

"Because 1 year ago, he murdered my father." Talia said in bitterness and grief.

"Yes, I know this story. Oliver killed Ra's al Ghul in a fight to the death to save 1.5 million innocent people from a bio-weapon." Nathan said, which shocked Talia.

"How do you know my father's name? I never told Oliver anything." Talia demanded.

"Because I'm not the same Nathaniel Queen from this earth. I'm from a parallel universe, and there, I lived the life Oliver lived here, except some things happened and now I'm on this Earth. But the reason I know is because on my earth, I'm your Beloved." Nathan reveals.

Once Talia gets her bearings from the revelation, she carefully says, "If you believe that will somehow sway me to your side, you are wrong."

"Why are you so angry about it all, anyway? You know how the League's tradition works." Nathan said.

"My father and I came to be at odds when I was still the heir. He never intended for me to be the heir, but to be the concubine of the man that would succeed him. I left to forge my own path and take control of my destiny. But he was still my father when your brother shoved his sword through his chest. And I will avenge him." Talia said.

"How do you plan to do that?" Nathan asked.

"Since you won't be leaving here alive, I see no harm in telling you. I have procured a student of certain remarkable talent to use as my weapon of vengeance, the bastard son of Justin Claybourne. He learned everything about Oliver, then sought me out, to train under me so he could gain his vengeance against Oliver." Talia said.

"Consider this then. Your quest for vengeance, while understandable, is pointless. You would only be dishonoring his memory." Nathan revealed, much to Talia's shock and anger.

"Speak plainly, or the next words will be your last," She said dangerously.

"Like I told you just now, you know how league tradition works. Oliver Queen was, in your father's eyes, the living embodiment of the prophecy concerning the Demon's Head. He survived several fatal wounds in his duel with Ra's, and Ra's brought him into the League and named him _heir to the demon_. Everything that transpired after was his will. Oliver Queen was your father's chosen heir."

"Your grief has blinded you to the truth and has allowed you to be manipulated. You believe that you are the one in control, the one using the bastard of Claybourne's pain and grief as a weapon against my brother, but something tells me it's the opposite."

"Prepostrous! How dare you-"

"Just why exactly do you think he contacted **you**? Not Slade Wilson, but **you**. Why do you think the enemy of your prized student, would seek said student's out for help in destroying him? For what reason would he think that you wouldn't just simply put an arrow through his face instead?" Nathan asked rhetorically, horror and realization dawning on Talia.

"Because he researched everything about Oliver and me…He already knew I was the Demon's daughter before he even approached me. H-He sought me from the start with the intention to use my love for my father against me. To use it to...to m-manipulate me..." Talia trailed off, her pride making it extremely difficult for her to even admit the truth. She felt disgusted with herself that she had allowed herself to be manipulated by someone nearly a 1/3 of her age.

"Where is this bastard of Claybourne anyway?" Nathan asked.

"It's too late. He's already gone. He left weeks ago, I have no idea where he is." Talia said angrily.

"Well, you can help me with my original request." Nathan said as she looked at him. "Come to Star City and pull Oliver's head out of his ass. I have no delusions about him ever become the effective machine you created in Russia, but you should be able to get him back on track. And maybe train Laurel and Thea as well, because they need it."

Talia looked down at the floor as she pondered her choice, clenching her fist hard in anger at being manipulated before making her decision.

 **Arrow Lair**

Oliver was sitting in his desk chair after being confirmed as Mayor earlier in the day. Suddenly, he felt something pierce his neck and pulled it out to see a small syringe with a blue liquid inside of it. He felt dizzy and fell to the ground as he tired to get up, when two individuals in black clothing walked in and the man said, "Don't worry brother, just a little something to take the edge off." Oliver fell into the sweet bliss of unconsciousness after that.

 **1 hour later**

Oliver woke up with a groan. He rubbed his neck and sat up with a groan.

"Welcome back, brother." Nathan says as Oliver sits up.

"Nate? What did you do to me?" Oliver asked.

"I cured you of the Red Death." Nathan stated causing Oliver to sit up in shock.

"What do you mean? I got injected with that 4 years ago. It shouldn't still be in my system." Oliver said, causing Naruto to hold up the syringe.

"Your right of course, the actual drug is out of your system, but the scars it left where more severe than some temporary mental torment. You see, after getting a secret contract with the US military back home, I and a team of my top scientists were allowed to examine the brains of victims of the Red Death. After some time, we discovered that the Red Death targeted this walnut-sized area, nestled within the frontal cortex, called the lateral frontal pole. It's the part of your brain responsible for planning and decision-making. We found that this part of the brain suffered varying degrees of degradation and damage, which is likely what drives many under it's effects to commit suicide. You were able to survive the initial effects of the Red Death, but it damaged the part of your brain responsible for good decision making, so your decisions over time progressively got worse. Anyway, my team and I came up with a compound, totally safe, that when injected into the body, focuses the bodies healing to that particular part of the brain, allowing it to heal. You may already notice how you can think more clearly than ever before." Nathan said.

Oliver felt his head and muttered, "I do feel better. Like I can think more clearly. Oh, did I really go through four years of this with actual brain damage to my frontal cortex?"

"You did. It was the reason why you went from an effective fighting machine in your first year, to being this sad excuse of a protector I saw when I first arrived here and why you made so many bad decision's and were so easily shaken in your convictions. I didn't understand until I remembered the Red Death." Nathan said.

"Now, I would offer to help get your head back in gear, but I seriously need to get back to my own world, so I before I left, I figured I would leave you with someone who will." Nathan said as Talia stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello, Oliver," Talia greeted.

"Talia," Oliver greeted, "It's been a long time. I didn't expect to see you again."

"Neither did I, Oliver. However, when your brother tracked me down and told me about your situation…well, it's insulting that my greatest student could fall so far. If I had known you would falter so easily, I would not have let you leave Russia when you did. I am here to… what is it you Americans say; Pull your head from your ass?" Talia said to him.

"So here to train me again." Oliver muttered.

"Given what I've heard, you clearly need it. Especially since the worst has not yet come to pass," Talia said as Oliver listened intently. "There is a man that is coming to destroy everything you hold dear. As you are now, you will fail. I am willing to teach you again, if you are willing to listen."

Oliver thought it over, and now that his mind was not cluttered with feelings of self-doubt, realized that he had gotten extremely lucky two weeks earlier when Nathan stepped in and saved Laurel, and pretty much ended all of his problems that he had currently been dealing with good old-fashioned bloodshed. While Oliver wasn't down for going back to how he was before the Red Death, perhaps he needed as refresher.

"I accept," Oliver told her, which earned a smile from Nathan.

"Well, good luck with him Talia, I need to get back to my world. Goodbye, brother," Nathan said a stormy blue portal opened and swallowed him up to take him back to Central City to pick up Natasha and Skye, and go home.

"So, what's first?" Oliver asked. Talia pulled out a wooden bowl and poured some water into it, and Oliver suddenly felt like he was back in that plane on Lian Yu with Shado.

"Since you seem to have forgotten everything important you ever learned, you are going to relearn everything and I do mean **everything**. Now, slap the water," Talia ordered with her arms crossed and Oliver grudgingly began the first of many water slaps.

 **Back on Earth Prime**

Nathan sighed contently as he starred out of his apartment at his city, just relaxing for the first time in a while. After he dropped off Natasha and Skye, he came home to a 10 hour long session of passionate sex with Lyla, Chien and Helena, to make up for his ' unintentional extended leave of absence'. The three resting were resting contently upstairs after their session while Nathan had a glass of spiced rum and stared out at the city he fought so hard everyday to protect.

He looked at his kitchen drawer, where he had stashed the envelope Barry had given him. He knew that his war with Slade was going to pick up soon, so now was as good a time as any to find out the truth. He put his glass down on the table near his couch and walked over to the drawer, pulled out the packet, and brought it over to the couch with him. He sat down, flipped the packet over and this time, instead of stopping partway, he opened it and pulled out the documents.

A few minutes later, he covered his mouth with hand to try to contain the raw emotion he was feeling. "My God," He breathed.

Ruby Arias, daughter of Samantha Arias, was his daughter.

 **Chapter End**

 **Sorry it took so long, was having lots of trouble with this chapter.**

 **If it wasn't clear before that Ruby was his daughter, this should clear it up.**

 **I know I had him doing alot of ranting in this, but I was running out of ideas on how to write this.**

 **Credit for the Thea rant goes to Phillipe363.**

 **I gave Natasha the Marvel Comics Spidermans powers along with additional ones that he gained after Queen's Mutation and after he became the receptacle of a powerful Spider Totem called the Other. I figured it fit because she would be a true 'Black Widow' now.**

 **Nathan's powers are Infinite Spacial Manipulation, basically he has all the powers of the Space Stone. He draws his power from the Space, which will give me a reason to have him join the Marvel Universe for some chapters. The for this is because in this story, there is only one group of Inifinity Stones in the Multiverse and due to this, they can function within any dimension, be it Earth Prime, Earth 2, or Earth 19999. There will BE AN INFINITY WAR CROSSOVER;)**

 **Don't worry, Nathan's new powers won't get in the way of Season 3 and the confrontations with Ra's al Ghul.**


	32. Blindspot

**AN: I skipped episode 10 because honestly, nothing really happens that Helena and the others couldn't have handled.**

 **Black Arrow**

 **Chapter 32: Blindspot**

 _ **Five years ago**_

 _Sara and Slade stood silently as Nathan finished placing the final stone on the rock cairn that contained Shado's body._

 _"You always told me that I wouldn't die here." Nathan said, as if he were talking to Shado, looking down at the fresh grave as tears flowed freely from his eyes. Next to it were the graves for Robert Queen and Yao Fei, each with a log laid on top with the name carved into it._ _"But looking back, I realized that you never once said that about yourself. I just hope your with your father now. My love."_

 _Slade stood wearily. He started to walk past Nathan, but then paused. "Here, kid." He said after a long moment, holding the Shado's hood out towards Nathan._

 _Nathan looked down at the hood. "I don't deserve have that." He told Slade._

 _"She would have wanted it. You're the one she loved." Slade said mournfully. Nathan finally tuned to look at him, then after a moment took the hood. The older man walked off into the woods._

 _"Slade…" Nathan said, turning towards the other man and moving to go after him._

 _Sara grabbed his arm, stopping him._

 _Nathan jerked it free. "Get off me." He growled._

 _"He has the Mirakuru in his system now." Sara reminded him._

 _"So do I. What does that have to do with anything?" Nathan demanded._

 _"Look, the Japanese, they experimented on hundreds of men working to develop Mirakuru. And I read the research. The people who died? They were the lucky ones. The ones who survived, they were deformed. Either their bones or their minds." Sara explained worriedly as Nathan looked back at her, suddenly unsure. "They became someone else."_

" _So, why aren't you concerned with me?" Nathan asked, eyeing her critically._

" _Because the version you were injected with was different. It was the prize Ivo was truly wanted." Sara explained. "Look, in Ivo's research, there was a mention of Red Mirakuru. The scientist's in charge of the project had apparently perfected an upgraded version of the drug that gave the one injected with it increased control over their enhanced abilities and came with almost no mental side-effects aside from some hallucinations. The scientist in charge of the development of the advanced version of the drug was on that boat but he managed to make a single dose of the Red Mirakuru before he died. That's what you were injected with, and since you still seem to be stable enough, that's why I feel I can trust you."_

 _ **Later**_

 _Slade, Nathan and Sara made their way through the forest, towards and uncertain location. Nathan caught up to Slade and looked at him worriedly._

 _"Hey." He said, looking at his silent friend. "You ok?" Slade remained silent. "Slade, where you going?" he asked._

 _Slade finally stopped and turned back to Nathan. "To the plane, to get geared up." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world._

 _"For what?" Nathan asked._

 _"Ivo is still out there." Slade said. "I'm going to find him, and when I do, I'm going to cut pieces off him."_

 _"You can't." Sara said, finally catching up. She was carrying the crate of Mirakuru. "Ivo has a ship full of men, of killers. And I don't care what you two did before, you can't take them all out." She reminded him. "Your only play here is to find safe ground and wait him out."_

 _"Well, of course you would say that." Slade seethed, stalking towards the woman. "You were working for him. You're probably still working for him!" Sara backed up, terrified._

 _"Hey, hey!" Nathan yelled, placing a hand on his chest and trying to hold him in place. "Back off." He told him._

 _"Get out of my way, kid." Slade growled._

 _"Look, calm do-"_

 _"I said," Slade slapped his hand away and grabbed him by the throat. He lifted him in the air with one hand easily. "Get out of my way." Nathan gasped for air._

 _Slade choked him for a few moments but that's when they saw the change in Nathan. His eyes changed to blood red color with slit pupils. He gripped Slade's wrist and removed from his neck while applying pressure, the sound of Slade's wrist breaking filled the air. Nathan's feet hit the ground and the second they did, he kicked Slade back._

 _"You wanna fight now!? We just buried Shado! Doing this is an insult to her memory!" Nathan shouted at Slade, which seemed to snap him out of his red haze of anger. He visibly relaxed_ _, as did Naruto, whose eyes went back to normal while Sara held the tree branch she had picked up defensively. Slade looked around, finally coming out of his daze._

 _"I'm sorry." He said, looking around frantically. He staggered back into a tree, and slid down it until he was sitting on the ground. He stared at his hand- the same hand that had punched through a pirate's chest, the same hand that could have killed his friend._

 _Sara relaxed somewhat. "You're not well, Slade." She told him gently._

 _"Hey man," Nathan said, getting his attention. "It's just the Mirakuru. It's messing with your head."_

' _ **He's not the only one it's messing with.'**_ _Nathan thought as he looked deeper into the forest and saw a hallucination of Shado._

 _Sara looked around. "It's going to be dark soon." She said. "We should make camp." Nathan nodded absently, still staring uncertainly at Slade._

 _ **That Night**_

 _Sara and Nathan were laying on the cold ground, trying to get some sleep when suddenly their radio crackled to life._

 _'Sara. Sara, I know you're listening.' Their heads shot up at the sound of Anthony Ivo's voice. 'Answer me.'_

 _Nathan grabbed the radio. Sara reached out for it, but Nathan silently shook his head._

 _'This is very simple, Sara.' Ivo continued. 'I know you and your new friends have the Mirakuru. You know I will lay waste to this entire island to get it.'_

 _"Get Slade." Nathan told Sara, who jumped up at once to go grab their sentry._

 _'But it doesn't have to be that way. All I want is the serum. In exchange, I'll promise you and your friends safe passage off this island, I promise. Within 10 days, you and your new friends could be making port in Shanghai. The alternative is I send my men into the jungle to take the serum from you. They'll be under orders not to kill any of you. Instead, you'll remain alive enough for me to indulge my scientific curiosity. Think about it, Sara.' The radio clicked off, and Nathan tossed it to the ground. He dropped his head into his hands and contemplated what the doctor had said._

 _"He's gone." Nathan looked up at Sara as she ran back to the camp._

 _"What?" he said in surprise._

 _"Slade's gone and he took the Mirakuru with him." She said worriedly as Nathan looked back, a sense of dread emerging through his gut at what Slade was gonna do._

 _ **Flashback end**_

 **St. Walker's Hospital**

A man walking through the rain up the stairs to St. Walker's Hospital. He walked into the hospital and was greeted by one of the nurses.

"Welcome to St. Walker's, alderman." She said, and then added conspiratorially, "Or should I call you Mayor?"

Sebastian Blood smiled at the nurse as they walked. "Thank you for letting me come by so late."

"Well, I can imagine how busy your schedule is." She said. "It's really great of you taking the time to come and visit your aunt." She paused outside Maya's room. "Her health has taken a bad turn."

"Of course." Blood said with a smile. "She's family."

Inside the room, Maya sat on the edge of her bed, praying with a rosary as the other two walked in. "Maya, look who came to see you." The nurse said. "It's your nephew, Sebastian."

Maya looked up from the rosary. "Don't go. Please." She pleaded.

"We'll be fine." Blood said, patting the nurse on the arm. "Thank you." She stepped out and closed the door, and then Blood approached his 'aunt'. "Still worshipping the old Gods, I see." He said mockingly.

"They're the last thing I have from your father's." Maya shot back. "They protect me."

"You were supposed to protect you." Blood said. "A friend of mine, Laurel Lance, came by to visit you a couple days ago. Do you remember her?" he asked.

"She's muy Linda." Maya said with an absent smile.

"Yes, she is." Blood agreed. "What did you both talk about?"

"Nada. Nothing." She claimed.

"You know I don't like it when you lie to me." Blood said with an edge to his voice.

"I told her the truth." Maya said after a moment's hesitation. "That you- you kill him. Your father. Mi esposo! I don't know what came over me." She said tearfully. "I am so, so sorry. I hurt you, mijo."

"Esta bien. No te preoccupes." He said quietly.

"But you are my child, my son." Maya protested. "And I hurt you."

"I forgive you, mama." He said, rising from his seat on the bed. He walked over to his mother and kissed her on the top of the head. "I forgive you for everything." He whispered. He walked out of the room leaving Maya sitting there, crying softly.

A short time later, Maya had repositioned herself by the bed and was saying her prayers while counting on her rosary. "La luz de dios me rodea, amor de dios me envuelve, El poder de dios me protege, la presencia de dios vela por mÃ ."

She lay back against the bed- and then suddenly the man in the skull mask was there. "Los dioses estÃ¡n muertos." He said. Maya screamed-

Then said no more.

 **1 week later**

 **The Glades**

Roy's stolen merchandise buyer Louis was standing in an old factory, his foot pinned to the floor as the dark vigilante fired arrows into him.

"Oh! Ah! Oh, please!" Louis screamed in pain and terror. "I don't know anything!" he stammered.

Prometheus shot another arrow near the man, hitting him in the knee. **"The man in the skull mask."** He growled. **"Where is he?"**

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Louis yelled, as he whimpered in pain.

Another arrow, this time in his shoulder. **"He's been experimenting on people in the Glades. He's leaving a trail of corpses with blood running from their eyes."**

"No, no, no, no, no. I deal in stolen merchandise, that is it." He protested.

Over the coms, Skye said _'Ask him what color his shoes are.'_

Nathan paused in confusion. **"Come again?"**

 **Back at the Lair**

Skye sat behind her computers, listening to the interrogation while Lyla say next to her. "If you want this guy to take a polygraph via Bluetooth, then we need to hear him establish a base line." Lyla explained. "Skye needs to hear him tell the truth just once."

Nathan sighed in annoyance. **"What color are your shoes?"** he growled as menacingly as he could given the stupidity of the question.

Louis looked at him in confusion. "What?" he looked down to check. "They're blue!"

Skye stared at the screen, and sighed in defeat. "He's not lying."

Back in the factory, Prometheus was annoyed, " **Then he's useless."**

Louis looked back up. "Please-" he started to plead, but Prometheus let the arrow loose that pierced Louis's brain.

Later that night, Nathan stood on the room of a building looking out over The Glades. **"Slade's out there."** He whispered. **"Somewhere."**

' _I'm not sure you can do much more tonight. Come home.'_ Lyla said over the coms.

 **Five years ago**

 _Nathan and Sara had made their way back to the plane, looking for Slade._

 _"Slade? Slade!" Nathan yelled, doing a quick search of the wrecked plane. He sighed in disappointment when he realized it was empty. "Thought maybe he'd come back here." He told Sara._

 _"He has the original Mirakuru serum in his bloodstream." She reminded him. "He's not thinking clearly." Nathan stopped and looked down. On the deck lay the skeleton of the Japanese soldier they had carried back for Shado to look over. "So what do we do now?"_

 _"I don't know, Sara." Nathan said, annoyed. He looked around and saw the motion tracker. He picked it up and saw that it was still working. "The sensor grid is still active. So at least we're going to know if Ivo and his men come back to the island." He told her._

 _"So we just sit here and wait?" Sara asked._

 _"Well, do you have any other ideas? 'Cause right now, I'm open to suggestions." He shot back._

 _"We find Slade, and…" she swallowed. "Maybe we consider Ivo's offer."_

 _Nathan glared at her. "What?"_

 _"Look, if we get the serum back from Slade, then we can go home." Sara said, trying to reason with him. "And I can try to talk to Ivo. I can get him to listen to me."_

 _Nathan stood and moved right into Sara's face, frightening her. "Like he listened before he tried to make me choose between you and Shado!? When he killed me and orchestrated the death of the woman I loved with all my heart!? Have you lost your fucking mind!?" he spat as his eyes turned red again._

 _"He's just tired, and he's frustrated." She said defensively. Nathan scoffed. "You don't understand what finding the Mirakuru serum has meant to him."_

 _"I...Don't...CARE!" He shouted. "And I don't get how you can even consider trusting him after what he tried to do to you and what he did do to me and Shado!"_

 _"He's not evil." She protested. "He kept me safe on that ship for over a year. And I mean, not just safe, he taught me things. And I learned a lot." She added softly._

 _"I learned a lot, too." Nathan said quietly, his eyes changing back to normal, staring hard at his best friend "This island taught me that I can't truly trust anyone."_

 **Present**

 **D.A.'s office**

Laurel walked in and sat down at her desk. She reached into her purse and pulled out a pill bottle- her father's oxycodone. She stared at the bottle for a moment before popping the top off and shaking a pill out.

"Ms. Lance?" Laurel looked up in surprise, quickly moving her hands under her desk, out of view of her assistant, who was standing there. "I have a call for you on line two." She said.

"Thank you, Katherine." Laurel replied. Katherine walked off and Laurel quickly downed the pill dry.

Then she reached over and picked up her phone. "Laurel Lance." She announced as the call connected.

"This is nurse Downey from St. Walker's." a woman on the other line said. "You asked me to call if there was any changes in Maya Resik's condition. I'm sad to report she passed away."

Laurel froze in shock. "What?" she asked.

"Her heart gave out on her, poor soul." The lady said.

Several minutes later, Laurel took her theory to Adam Donner. "You think Sebastian Blood, the saint of Starling City, killed his own mother?" he said incredulously.

"He was the last person to see her alive." Laurel argued. "That isn't a coincidence."

"He's a devoted nephew visiting a sick relative. You're right, that's very, very suspicious." Donner said sarcastically.

"He didn't go there to visit her." Laurel said. "He went there to kill her; to cover up the fact that as a child, he killed his father. Maya Resik told me what happened."

"From inside a padded room, right?" Donner pointed out.

"He had her forcibly committed." Laurel shot back. "She tells me the truth and then two days later has a heart attack. You don't find that strange?"

"Well, for one thing, there's no record that Maya Resik was even Blood's mother, and according to the hospital, she was in the late stages of heart disease."

"I need you to call in a favor with Judge Carlin." Laurel begged, not willing to let this go. "Get a search warrant for Sebastian's campaign headquarters, his phone records; I-I have to start somewhere."

"Laurel, this isn't some casual request." Donner said. "I'm the ADA who took Meth on live TV. I take a shot at Sebastian Blood and miss, my career is done."

"Adam! Please." She begged.

Donner shook his head. "I'm sorry, Laurel." He said. "You're on your own." He told her, walking out of his office and leaving a disappointed Laurel alone.

 **Verdant**

Roy was taking out the recyclables in the back alley behind the building when Nathan, in civilian clothes, walked up to him.

"Hello, Roy." He said pleasantly.

Roy looked up and scoffed. "Lurking in an ally." He said, closing the lid on the bin and heading back towards the side entrance. "That's not at all creepy."

Nathan chuckled. "I did build this club. I know all the secret entrances." He joked as they walked.

Then he turned serious. "I never got a chance to thank you for saving my mother's life while I was away." He said. Roy stopped and looked back at Nathan. "Thea told me. She said that you were very brave."

"I did what anyone would have done." Roy said awkwardly.

"Not anyone." Nathan admitted. "It takes a great deal of courage to run towards danger, not away from it."

Roy paused again and looked back. "That sounded like praise." He noted. "I thought where I was concerned, you didn't approve."

Nathan smiled. "Well, when I came home after 5 years, the guys Thea was dating only wanted her for sex. I can tell this is a serious relationship with you two, though, so I'm willing to give you a chance. Thea also said that you also got hit by some falling debris." He continued. "You doing alright?"

"Actually, it mostly missed me." He lied. "I'm fine. Look, I got to get back to work." He said hurriedly, moving quickly back into the club. Nathan watched him go, eyes narrowed in concern.

 **Arrow Lair**

Skye had pulled up the clubs surveillance cams on her monitors to watch Roy. Lyla, Natasha, Helena and Nathan were with her.

"Has Roy mentioned anything about the man in the skull mask who injected him?" she asked.

Nathan sighed. "Roy likes to keep his feelings close to his chest. He doesn't like talking about them."

"Hey AC, I think we need a new plan on how to find this creepy mask guy." Skye noted. "Scaring the crap out of low-lifes and ganking them isn't getting what you want."

"Skye, I am open to any and all suggestions." Nathan said, frustrated.

"Nathan, maybe we're over thinking this." Lyla said. "You know Slade the best out of us. Would he really use a proxy to distract you?"

"The old Slade wouldn't. He would have preferred to deal with me in person, and not make more of him." Nathan sighed as he leaned on a table while Helena comforted him by holding his hand in hers and rubbed his arm. "But right before I "killed" him the first time, he went completely insane and tried to make more Mirakuru soldiers. I have no idea what this new Slade will do, which is we need to locate him so I can finish the job properly this time."

Suddenly Prometheus's phone rang. Skye reached down and grabbed it out of habit. She looked at the screen, and then handed it over to Nathan. "Detective Hall, for Prometheus." She said.

Nathan took the phone. **"Yes, Detective?"**

"Can we meet?" McKenna asked from the SCPD.

 **"What is it?"**

McKenna looked up at Laurel disapprovingly, not sure how she figured out that McKenna had the phone to contact Prometheus, though she guessed it was because her dad told her. "Someone wants to talk to you."

 **Later that night**

Laurel stood on a roof, watching the train go by as she waited for the vigilantes to show up. Several minutes after the appointed time had passed; she finally heard the familiar sound of the voice changer behind her.

 **"Hello, Laurel."** Prometheus said.

"You're late." Laurel said, annoyed as she turned to face the archer and hunter duo.

 **"We had to circle around to make sure there wasn't a SWAT team waiting for my boyfriend. Again."** Helena shot back.

"That's fair." She said. "Trust me, I wouldn't have asked my father and McKenna to put me in touch with you if I had any other choice."

 **"What do you need?"** he asked.

"Sebastian Blood." Laurel said without further preamble. "He's about to be the new mayor of Starling City."

 **"We know who he is."** Huntress said.

"No, you don't." she shot back. "No one does." She walked towards the vigilantes, holding out a file. "A few weeks ago, I was approached by your groupie, Roy Harper, and his girlfriend." Nathan took the file. "They asked me to investigate the death of Max Stanton."

 **"You think Blood was involved in Stanton's death?"** he asked.

"Blood, or a man that worked for him was named Cyrus Gold." She explained. Nathan looked at the picture in the file, and sure enough it was the same man who he killed before those other Mirakuru soldiers came along. "Gold killed three innocent security guards before you killed him." Laurel continued. "Blood and Gold knew each other from the orphanage that Blood was raised at. He would do anything to keep the truth about his past hidden. Including murdering his own mother."

 **"Why would he do that?"** Helena demanded.

"To cover up the fact that he killed his father." Laurel stated. Nathan turned back to her, stunned. "I tried going to the DA. No one will believe me. I swear to you, Sebastian Blood is dangerous. And you're the only person in this city who can stop him." She pleaded.

 **Next Day**

 **QC**

Nathan, Skye, Natasha and Lyla sat in the conference room while Skye collated all the information she had gathered.

"Laurel was right." Skye announced. "I hacked Blood's cell phone records. The alderman and Gold have stayed buddies since Zandia orphanage."

"Doesn't exactly mean that Sebastian Blood is the man in the skull mask." Lyla argued

"His last name is Blood." She noted.

"Skye, my boyfriends last name is Queen. You think because of that, that he should start wearing a crown and demanding people kiss his feet? Or that I should start acting like a mob boss because my last name is associated with a crime family?" Helena asked.

"You're a CEO by day, who dresses up and fights crime at night." She countered, holding her hands up in apology. "I'm just saying, not a lot of people show their real face in public."

Helena nodded, and then turned back to Nathan, whose mind only seemed to be partially on the meeting. Helena, Natasha, and Lyla all noted he was drinking bourbon. Which is odd, because he never day drinks unless there is something bothering him. "Nathan, what are you thinking?"

"Laurel gave me a case number to start with." He said, rising from his chair. "We need to know if Sebastian really killed his father, then we figure out if there's a chance he has the Mirakuru formula."

"I'm on it." Skye said. Helena, Natasha, and Lyla watched as Nathan went back to his desk as he was looking at something. A picture of a little girl with the same shade of eyes as him, his own eyes filled with pain when he looked at her.

 **Glades**

 **Down by the Tracks**

Roy was pacing by a low concrete wall when Sin walked up.

"Asking a cute girl to meet you down by the tracks, Harper? Good thing Thea and I are tight." She joked.

"I have to show you something." Roy said seriously.

Sin baked off, holding up her hands. "Easy there, tiger." She said with a grin.

Roy walked up to a short concrete pillar and punched it. His fist burst through the solid concrete like it was sand.

Sin's grin fell of her face immediately. She reached out and grabbed his hand, examining it. "You're not even bleeding!" she exclaimed. "When did you start juicing?"

"I'm not." He said.

"Then how do you explain what I just saw?"

Roy started walking, lightly grabbing Sin by the shoulder and pulling her along with him. "You remember that night around Christmas when I went missing?" he asked.

"Yeah, Thea and I were pissed." She replied.

"I never told you guys what really happened." He began. "You were right about your friend Max. He didn't OD, he was murdered. He was injected with something, and I was injected with the same thing, but it didn't kill me. It made me- it made me stronger."

Thea must be freaking." Sin noted.

"No, she doesn't know, I don't want her to."

Sin stopped walking. "Why not?" she demanded.

"No, I can't, not yet." Roy said. "Not until I know more about what happened to me. I don't want to scare her."

Sin looked at him incredulously. "And you're not worried about scaring me?"

Roy rolled his eyes. "Come on, I was going crazy not telling someone." He begged.

Sin sighed. "So what are you going to do?"

Roy thought for a moment. "Well, Prometheus once told me all I was good for was taking a beating." He said, a small smirk forming on his face. "Maybe it's time I started handing out a few of my own."

"I don't follow." Sin said, confused.

"Now I don't need his help to protect this city." Roy clarified. "Let's find us a bad guy."

 **QC**

 **Later that night**

Nathan was returning to his office from a meeting when Skye and Natasha met up with him.

"I have good news and bad news." Skye said. "I suggest the good news first; it tends to soften the blow of the bad news." Nathan just gave her a look.

"Okay, dealer's choice." Natasha said, moving back towards her desk. "Good news is we found the case file on Sebastian's dad's murder." She said, sitting down behind her computer.

"Anything in it to suggest he killed him?" Nathan asked.

Skye sighed. "And this here is the bad news."

"That file was sealed years ago." Natasha said.

"And since the file is over 27 years old, there is no digital copy for us to hack into." Skye told him. "The only hard copy is stored the old-fashioned way in the city archives."

"So we take it the old fashioned way." Nathan said simply.

"Except security in the file room is so old school, you need a key card to get in without tripping the alarn, which, even if you had, you wouldn't know where to start looking for the file." Skye pointed out.

Nathan thought about it for a moment. "An assistant DA might." He said.

 **Late that Night**

 **Laurel's apartment**

Laurel stood in her bedroom, staring at herself in the mirror. She absently noted her appearance- her face was thinning, her eyes looked listless, her hair was limp.

She looked dead on the inside.

She reached towards her purse, ignoring the slight tremor in her hand, and dug into it, withdrawing the pill bottle. She quickly opened the bottle and shook an Oxy out, downing it just as she heard the window in the next room opening. Startled, she quickly put the bottle back into her purse and walked out into the living room, where Prometheus and Helena stood in darkness.

 **"You said you needed our help."** He said through the voice changer. **"Now we need yours."**

"What do you need?" she asked.

 **"You."** Helena said. Without hesitation, she grabbed her coat and walked to the door, Prometheus and Huntress following behind her. They passed a picture of the Lance sisters as they left the apartment.

 _ **Five years ago-**_

 _Sara lay on the deck of the plane, wrapped in a blanket, staring at the small fire she and Nathan had built as Nathan lay in his makeshift hammock near the door._

 _"You know what I really miss about being home?" she asked rhetorically. "My bed."_

 _Nathan chuckled. "I don't know if I even remember what a bed feels like anymore."_

 _"And you probably never will." Sara said morosely. "And neither will I."_

 _"Sara…" Nathan rose from the hammock and moved to the fire. "You can't think like that. We're going to find a way off the island."_

 _Nathan paused to collect his thoughts. "I haven't gotten a chance to say this," he said. "I'm sorry. I should have protected you from my brother. And none of this would have happened if I had just given us a chance."_

 _"That's not exactly true. I mean I was the one who said yes to him." Sara conceded. "And it was only half because of me wanting you to be jealous enough of Oliver to admit your feelings to me."_

 _"And the other half?" he asked._

 _Sara grinned in memory. "Because I loved you."_

" _I know." Nathan said, "I knew for years."_

" _So, then, why-" Sara started to say._

" _Why couldn't I choose?" Nathan asked. " I wanted Laurel but I couldn't have her. I felt something for you as well, but I feared that if I acted on it, and we didn't work out, then I would have lost you forever."_

" _You know it doesn't work like that. Yeah, if we didn't work out it would have taken awhile to get back to a good place, but you wouldn't have lost me." Sara said compassionately as she a hand on his._

" _I know that now. But I still hate myself for thinking it all those years ago." Nathan said._

 _They sat in silence for a few moments. "We should get some sleep." She finally said, laying back down._

 _A few hours later, after the fire had been reduces to smoldering ash, Nathan lay asleep. A pair of boots walked over to him silently; a hand bent down and grabbed the radio. Sara made her way out of the plane, pausing only once to look back at Nathan_.

 **Present-**

Nathan and Helena led Laurel to the roof of the Department of Records. He quickly drew and fired an explosive arrow at the access hatch, blowing the lock.

 **"You ready for this?"** he asked her as he lifted the lid.

"Whatever it takes." Laurel said firmly.

Prometheus nodded, and then activated Helena activated her com-link. **"We're going in."**

"At least the security cameras are from this century." Skye said from her seat in the Lair.

" **Put it on a looped feed. This could take awhile and we don't want security calling the police."** Nathan said.

A few keystrokes later, Skye said "And now they're toast." As the cameras all were put on a looped feed.

"Try not to take too long though, they might notice something is up." Natasha informed the vigilantes.

Down in the lobby, two guards sat fighting off boredom.

Inside the main hall, Laurel used her access card to swipe into the main records room.

The three entered and room and froze. Before them were rows and rows of shelves, all with hundreds of file boxes on them.

"This could take a while." She said.

 **"Better be quick then."** He replied. They moved deeper into the room, frantically searching the boxes for the right file number.

Helena pulled Nathan aside while they looked for the file. **"Hey, have you seen Laurel is looking a little sick lately?"**

" **Yeah, I've noticed, but what can I do?"** Nathan asked, confusing Helena. Nathan was letting the anger and pain he felt at his daughter being hidden from him, the bad memories of his past, and those stupid memories of his past life affect his ability to recognize that Laurel's habits were slowly killing her.

" **What?"** Nathan asked when she kept staring at him.

" **Is something going on again?"** Helena asked in concern.

" **I don't want to talk about it."** Nathan said.

" **Are you sure? Because last time something was going on, you went off the rails and would have died, had Lyla not called Kara."** Helena pressed.

" **I said I don't want to talk about it."** Nathan growled.

" **Fine. I won't push right now. But don't forget, I'm here for you and so are the others."** Helena said, as she moved into another section of files.

 **20 minutes later**

"Ugh! Where is it!?" she exclaimed, running back up the ladder to grab another box.

Laurel was frantically digging through another box. "Wait!" she exclaimed, double checking against her notes. "Case number SC43878! This is it!" she yanked the file free.

" **Let's get out of here."** Nathan said as they snuck back out of the building into an alley 2 blocks away.

The immediate danger past, Laurel ripped open the file-

Only to find it empty.

 **Arrow Lair**

 **Later that night**

"So, Nat and I tried going through all the security footage at the city archives to see if anyone swiped the file over the last few days." Skye was telling Nathan, Natasha, Chien, Helena, and Lyla pulling up the video files.

"Did you see anyone?" he asked.

"Just this." She said, playing a particular file. The video showed the main room empty, but after a few seconds the view started to break up before going to static. "It's all been erased."

"So what happened when you reversed the footprint to see who hacked in before you?" Nathan asked.

"We struck out again." Natasha admitted. "It must have been an inside job."

"Meaning what?" Nathan asked

"As a city alderman, Blood would have had access to the files." Helena noted.

"Nathan, anyone on city payroll could have also done this." Skye pointed out, being a bit optimistic.

"He's running for mayor." Chien said, seeing an obvious reason for this to be him. "One hint that he killed his father and his political future is DOA."

"Why are you so against this guy, AC? I mean, I'm having trouble seeing the reason for the mistrust." Skye said.

"Laurel and I both have good instincts." Nathan said. "She could always tell when something was wrong with Oliver, like when he was cheating on her, or be able to tell when he was hiding something. I knew from the moment I was face-to-face with Blood, there was something off about him. I think Laurel is on to something."

Nathan looked to Skye. "Please keep digging into Blood's past and see if there's anything that could help us." He said, turning to leave.

"Where you going?" Lyla asked.

"I need to be alone." Nathan replied solemnly as he walked out.

"He's been acting like this all week. There's something going on again, isn't there?" Chien asked once he was out of earshot.

"Yep, and I'm worried, not just for him but for Laurel. It's affecting his judgement where she is concerned. He can't even see right now how much Laurel needs him because he's so wrapped up in whatever is going on with him." Helena said.

"Well, then I'll have to pull him out that funk tonight." Chien announced.

"How are you going to get him to open up?" Skye wondered. Chien pulled out The List and looked at one of the names.

"I have a few ideas." She smiled.

 **Bloods campaign office**

The office was empty, and Blood was laying out work for the next day before a voice drew him to his office.

"Point blank range." Slade Wilson said, sitting behind Blood's desk and reading the police file he had liberated shortly before Laurel had tried to do the same thing. "Single shot to the heart from a low angle. Obviously the handiwork of someone quite scared, and very small." He set the file down on the desk, and Blood looked down at the picture of his father that had been paper clipped to it. "How come the police didn't arrest you?" Slade asked.

"I knew how to cover my tracks." Blood replied.

"A skill you've obviously lost since you've gotten bigger." Slade noted scornfully. "You know how close you came to allowing the Prometheus and his little girlfriend to destroy everything?"

"Someone spoke out of turn." Blood said. "I've taken care of the problem."

Slade slammed his hand down on the desk as he rose. He moved quickly around the desk, buttoning his suit jacket. "Your mother was not our problem. Laurel Lance is."

"You were the one who told me to get close to her." Blood complained. "You said that it was part of the plan to hurt the Vigilante."

"It is." Slade said, stepping very close to Blood. "But you being sloppy isn't. Fix this, Mr. Blood." He grasped his tie and yanked it up, choking the politician. "You don't want me to fix it for you." He warned as he moved him out of his way.

Even before Slade was out of the office, Blood was scrambling for his phone. He quickly dialed one of his followers. "Brother Daily." He said shakily. "I need you to take care of something for me."

 **Nathan's loft**

Nathan was sitting in front of his fireplace, just glaring at the fire. He was struggling with the knowledge of his daughter's existence and didn't know what to do. He could not stay focused on anything and his mind was a storm of emotion. He was going through an existential crisis, because his daughter's existence changed things. Suddenly, he was starting to feel guilty about the people he had killed. How many of them might have had children? And what his daughter? What if she hated him? And how the hell was he going to explain this Chien and the other when this whole thing could destroy their relationships with him?

Suddenly, Chien walked into the loft, a black duffel bag in hand. "I don't want to talk about it." He said to her.

She walked up to him and tossed the black bag into his lap along with a file. Scrunching his eyebrows he opened the file to what it was. "Richard "Dick" Roman," Chien started, " CEO of Sucrocorp. His company has been putting toxic chemicals in their food additives for years, despite the fact that there are recent studies prove those same chemicals contribute to cancer and his additives are sold all over the US."

"What are you doing?" Nathan asked.

"Look, you don't have to talk right now about what's bothering you, but you still have work to do. You haven't targeted anyone on the list since our last foursome a week ago. You told us how you gave Oliver crap for giving up on the list but now you're doing the same thing. So, let's get you back on track." As she said that, Nathan opened the bag to see his Prometheus gear inside.

 **Laurel's apartment**

Laurel was walking down the hall, digging her keys out of her purse when she stopped at her door. Laurel opened the door to see her apartment was trashed. She walked in, stunned at the destruction all around her, when she heard a noise. "Whoever you are, I'm calling the police!" she called out shakily.

"No need to." Daily stepped into view in her living room. "Remember me?"

"Officer Daily, right?" Laurel said, stunned. She moved towards him, her arms crossed. "What's this all about? What are you doing in my apartment?" She demanded.

"I have a warrant." Daily said, holding up the paper for her to see. Two other officers came into view.

"A warrant for what?" she asked.

"We found these in your bedroom, Ms. Lance." One of the officers said, holding up a plastic evidence bag that contained Quentin Lance's oxycodone prescription.

"These aren't prescribed to you." Daily said as the third officer cuffed her. "That's a felony."

"What?!" Laurel exclaimed. "This is ridiculous!"

"You're under arrest for possession of a controlled substance." Daily said as the three officers led her out of the apartment. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

 **Sucrocorp**

 **Executive Offices**

Richard Roman was working on his company laptop late at night. He was working on a coming up with a new food additive that would be cheaper to produce than the one currently being used. He didn't really care that it was also twice as toxic as well.

Suddenly, he heard screams of pain for a few moments, and then blood splattered on the window to his office. Roman pulled a gun from his desk and aimed it at the window. Prometheus crashed through the window and shot Roman's gun out of his hands with an arrow. He screamed in pain when a arrow pierced through his right shoulder.

" **Richard Roman,"** came Prometheus voice as he came up to him, bow and arrow trained on the scumbag, " **You have failed this city."** HE let the arrow loose and it pierced Roman through the throat, the point coming out of the back of his neck. Prometheus left for the loft, but not before Nathan made a clone to go watch over Laurel.

 **SCPD headquarters**

Laurel sat in the darkened interrogation room, her hand still cuffed. She sniffled and fidgeted, jonesing for a pill, when Quentin walked in. "I know what this looks like. But you have to listen to me." She started, rising from the chair and scurrying towards her father. "I know what's happening. Sebastian Blood… he's setting me up, because he knows I'm onto him. He's-he's trying to frame me!" she exclaimed desperately.

"So he planted drugs in your apartment?" Quentin asked. He started walking around the table, trying to maintain control.

"But-no, no! Forget about the drugs." Laurel said, following him. "The point is, is that he is the one behind this witch hunt."

"Sebastian called your boss." Quentin told her. "He's worried about you."

"No, no! He wasn't worried about me." She said frantically. "He's trying to discredit me! Don't you see what he's doing?"

"What I see is that you have tested positive for opiates. I see that you have been lying to me, and I see that you have been stealing from me!" he exclaimed, slamming the evidence bag down onto the table. Laurel stared at it fearfully.

"I can explain that." She tried.

"Every person that stands where you're standing now says the exact same thing." Quentin said.

"Dad—"

"The DUI, the paranoia about Blood, you're looking like hell." Quentin said, listing the more obvious things as Laurel started to cry. "You got a problem, Laurel."

"No." she whispered.

"It's addiction." He said quietly. "It runs in this family. You can't pin it on Sebastian Blood."

"Daddy, please, you have to believe me! Please! Please." She begged.

He looked at her sadly. "I don't, baby." He said finally. He turned and left the room.

Laurel, sobbing, ran to the door and pounded on the glass. "No! No!" she cried, her cuffed hands coming to a rest on the cool glass.

In the squad room, a devastated Quentin rounded a corner to see Nathan's clone standing there, leaning against the wall.

"How is she?" He asked.

"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore." Quentin replied helplessly. He started to walk off, but Nathan's clone laid a hesitant hand on his shoulder.

"I'll-I'll get her home." He told the cop.

"Thanks." Quentin said, walking off. The clone looked up to see Laurel being led to central booking. She stared back at him tearfully.

 **Chien's mansion**

Nathan and Chien walked into her mansion, dressed in their civilian clothes. "So," Chien asked, "did that help you feel better? Another name crossed off the List? Another scumbag put in the grave?"

"Yeah," He admitted as he sat down in on the couch again, "It actually helped alot."

He thought to himself, ' _What the hell was I thinking earlier? I mean, yeah, I have a daughter I didn't know about. But that shouldn't be affecting my judgement like it has. Not where Laurel is concerned. And then there is the fact that I'm dickhead to the women that I love…again. They have a right to be concerned about me when I flew off the deep end a few weeks ago and did almost get myself killed.'_

' _And…damn it.'_ Nathan thought to himself, _'This year has been emotionally trying for me, what with Sara being alive, the Mirakuru, Slade, my trip to a different Earth, and now the whole daughter thing. I've been letting my own emotional turmoil get the better of me. I haven't been there for Laurel when I should have, and I'm focusing too much on Slade. I'm starting to fall for the same trap that Oliver fell into, focusing too much on the big villains and targeting the symptoms and not the source of the disease. I need to fix that as well. But first…'_

Nathan must have sat there thinking and being lost in his thoughts for 15 minutes, because he suddenly heard Chien come out of the shower. She came back down, dressed in the same bathrobe that she was dressed in when they first got back together together.

Nathan looked up at her and smiled. "You know, lately I've begun to feel like I don't deserve you and the others."

"What makes you think that?" Chien wondered.

Nathan sighed and listed off, "Well, first there was the whole loosing my cool and yelling at you and the others, which was totally wrong of me. And maybe it's all the bad memories that Slade being alive is bringing up, but there **is** something else that is bothering me for the last week, and instead of talking about it, I tried pushing you and the others away again. I'm a terrible boyfriend."

"No, you are not." Chien reassured as she sat next to her beloved, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and holding his hand in her other one. "You're just going through a rough time. Everyone has those."

"Not like me." Nathan said as he contemplated a few more minutes before deciding to just say it. "Okay, so my ex-girlfriend from high school and I, we slept together for one final time before I went to college, which was three years before the boat incident. A few months ago when I went to visit Kara, I met up with her again, and as she was leaving, a young girl, her daughter, ran into me. She was old enough to be mine and had my eye color, so I stole some hair samples and had them tested, and after the foursome we had with Lyla and Helena last week, I finally opened the results and it turns out I am her father."

"And that's why you were acting standoffish and distant this whole week." Chien stated.

"Yes," Nathan admitted in shame, "I just got so caught up in the revelation that I wasn't thinking clearly. It pained me that I have a daughter that I didn't know about. I kept thinking how she might hate me if she discovered what I do. And then, there's how this would affect my relationship with all of you. I kept thinking it would destroy my relationships with all of you. I-"

Nathan was interrupted from his tirade with a soft and loving kiss from Chien, as she maneuvered herself so she was sitting in his lap, straddling his waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You big, adorable, lovable dummy," Chien whispered softly in his ear, "You think something like this could destroy our relationship? I share you with 3 other women, and accept the fact that there will be other women who fall in love with you and join your harem. We aren't little girls, we are adult women who know what we want and how to hold onto it. A child that you sired before you even met any of us is nothing. The only way you could destroy your relationships will all of us is if you turned out to be gay this whole time."

They both shared a chuckle at the absurdity of Nathan ever being gay. "The point is," Chien continued, "It changes nothing. We love you, and this revelation isn't even remotely threatening to us. I know that the others feel the same way."

Nathan reached up and pulled her into a tender kiss, before he pulled away and whispered, "I love you so much, Chien."

 **Lemon**

"I love you too," Chien says as they begin each other more fervently, with more passion. Chien ran her hands through Nathan's hair while his hands trailed along her sexy legs and squeezed her ass, eliciting a moan from her. His other hand wrapped around the back of her neck and pulled her deeper into their making out.

Nathan took his hands off of her for a moment and took off his shirt, tossing it on the floor, leaving his upper body bare. Chien moved off him as quickly took off his jeans and underwear, leaving him completely naked, before she moved back on top of him.

"We should," Chien tried to say as he squeezed her ass again and she felt his cock hardening against her nether region, "go upstairs. I know that you –mmm, like to do it in the bed."

"I'll be balls deep inside you before I get to the first step," Nathan said huskily as he untied Chien's bathrobe and opened her robe to reveal her naked glory. He smiled as she had been naked the whole time. Nathan locked lips with Chien once again with their tongues dueling it out within one another's mouths. Nathan rubbed his hardened cock against her pussy, teasing her for a bit before Nathan lined himself up with her dripping entrance and slammed his cock into her tight and moist caverns.

Chien was in absolute bliss from feeling him enter her body and from how he stretched her open with his huge cock. Chien wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him close to her and Nathan wasted no time in moving his hips and thrusting his manhood up into her. Chien was crying out in absolute bliss from the man she loved fucking her mercilessly. As Nathan picked up the pace she pulled his head against her breasts and he began to suck on her tits while the head of his cock hit her womb with every thrust. Nathan and Chien were both moaning, groaning and breathing hard as sweat was pouring down their bodies. Within minutes, Nathan felt her sweet love canal begin to tighten which encouraged him to double his efforts.

Chien felt her climax fast approaching. Finally Chien screamed Nathan's name to the top of her lungs as her vaginal muscled tightened around his length.

Nathan pulled of her and then she let him roll her over onto her stomach. Nathan took a moment to appreciate her beautiful ass. Nathan leaned in gently laying over top of her and brought her face around to lock lips with him again. Nathan's ocean blue eyes gazed lovingly into her beautiful dark brown ones. Nathan positioned himself once more and then thrust his cock onto the white-haired beauty once again getting her to cry out in bliss from being filled to the brim. Nathan then started thrusting again into her with his crotch slapping her ass loudly.

As Nathan thrust into her hot and wet pussy, Chien was whimpering again from his ministrations as he kissed her neck and shoulders while he thrust into her with great vigor. Chien moaned loudly from the action and looked back at him so he could lock lips with her once more.

"Oh yes. I'm CUMMING! You're making me cum again!" She moaned loudly as she came around his cock for a second time.

Nathan then decided to switch things up and pulled out for just a second, bringing her up onto her hands and knees before he reentered her again. Nathan then also reached down and grabbed her by her wrists and held onto her tightly while he thrust his cock into her pussy hard and faster at super speed.

Nathan continued fucking her harder and faster with the sound of his crotch slapping against her sweet ass and sweat pouring down their naked bodies filling the room. Chien smiled when she felt him finally twitch inside her, knowing he was gonna cum inside of her and thankfully she felt her next orgasm was fast approaching, as his huge size made it easy for him to get his women off.

Finally Nathan was at his end and groaned loudly as he climaxed. "Chien, I'm cumming!" he shouted as he shot his load into her. That finally did it for the white-haired woman and she cried out climaxing as well with her innards trying to milk him for all his cum, as more and more hot semen was shot up into her body, filling her entire womb to the brim. Both partners remained joined at the hip when Nathan let go of her wrists letting her fall forward and rest panting hard with their mixed cum oozing down her legs.

Nathan then gently helped her back up and she smiled when he let her sit on his lap with his arms around her. "Are you up for another round?" he asked with a smirk.

 **End Lemon**

He would have continued but then his phone rang. He glared at the object interrupting his special time, but the ringtone was for Laurel's home phone. His phone flew into his hand and he answered, "Laurel."

"Boss, it's me," Came his clones voice, confusing Nathan.

"Why are you calling me?" Nate asked.

"Someone broke into Laurel's apartment while we were talking and shot me up with tranq darts while my powers were turned off before they kidnapped her." The clone said.

"Do you know where she is?" Nathan asked.

"She's at the Cannery." The clone said as he dispelled.

Nathan hung up and look apologetically at Chien, "I'm sorry, I gotta save her."

"You have nothing to apologize for, lover. Go save her," Chien said understandingly.

"Well, before I do," Nathan said as he created two clones, "I'll leave these two here to entertain you." He went to get his Prometheus gear while the clones went to work on pleasing Chien.

 _ **Five years ago**_

 _Sara walked into the forest before activating the radio. "Anthony? Are you there?" she asked. There was a few moments of static before Ivo replied._

 _**I'm here, Sara. I was hoping that you would reach out to me.** he said. **Are you alone? **_

 _"Yes." She replied. She heard a sigh._

 _**Are you all right? You're not hurt, are you? **_

 _"Do you even care? You were going to shoot me." She stated._

 _On the freighter, Ivo sat back on the table. "No. No, Sara. I swear, you were never in danger, I swear." He told her._

 _"So it's ok because you were just planning on murdering Shado and Nate?" she asked._

 _Ivo was silent for a moment. "Her name was Shado." He asked._

 _"Yes. And you had her killed, Anthony." Sara said._

 _"And I'm going to have to live with that for the rest of my life." Ivo replied._

 _He looked around the radio room wearily. "I never set out to hurt anyone." He said. "I started this quest to save people; to save the human race."_

 _"I know." Sara replied._

 _"Sara. I know you think that this ship rescued you when you were stranded at sea." Ivo began. "The truth is… you rescued me. But now the darkness, it's threatening me again."_

 _On the island, Sara looked out into the forest, torn. ** I need you, Sara. Please. Save me. **_

 **Present**

 **The Cannery**

Laurel's eyes shot open as she too regained consciousness. She was laying on a cold, concrete floor, and as she pulled herself up and looked around, it appeared to her that she was in a boiler room of some kind.

She made her way frantically through the boiler room, pausing as she saw Brother Blood walking across from her, separated only by rope netting. "If that mask is supposed to scare me," she started, breathing heavily. "All that it's doing is confirming what I've already known for a while now." She rounded a support column- but Brother Blood was gone. She looked around fearfully. "You're one sick son of a bitch, Sebastian!"

 **"30,000 years ago masks invested their wearer with authority, like a God."** The voice of Brother Blood said.

"You're insane." Laurel said.

 **"I'm not the one making drug-addled, unsubstantiated accusations against Starling's 2nd favorite son."** Brother Blood said from nowhere, everywhere.

"If I can find out the truth, then others can, too." Laurel said.

Suddenly Brother Blood was standing right behind her. She swung her elbow back, but the masked man ducked underneath the wild swing and grabbed her in a light choke hold. **"You found out nothing. You know nothing."** He growled.

Suddenly and arrow shot past his masked face, embedding itself in a pipe. " **Get away from her!"** Prometheus demanded from the catwalk above. **"Or I will put…you…DOWN."**

 **"And to think, a few short months ago, you were trying to arrest her boyfriend."** Brother Blood said to Laurel wryly.

"That is pretty ironic." Laurel mused.

 **"You wanted me here. I'm here."** Prometheus growled. **"Let. Her. Go."**

Brother Blood threw Laurel to the ground and pulled a gun. **"No, I think she should witness this."** He moved to aim up at the catwalk, but another arrow knocked the weapon from his hand. Then Prometheus was there, beating the masked man down with fists and feet, contemptuously ducking or blocking every shot Brother Blood took. Nathan pushed him down a long narrow hall, leaping off the wall to double the man over with a punch. Nathan pulled him back up before taking out his chokuto and he stabbed him through the chest, before pulling it out.

Prometheus and Laurel walked up to the fallen criminal. "Take off his mask." Laurel demanded. "I need to see."

Slowly, he knelt down and removed the leather mask, and Laurels look of satisfaction turned to shock as the man behind the mask turned out to be not Sebastian Blood, but Officer Daily. Daily had time to smile in satisfaction at her stunned look before he finally died. Laurel looked up at Prometheus, who stood there stunned as well.

 **Later**

A short time later Laurel was once again seated in the SCPD. This time, however, she sat in the squad room, a blanket on her shoulders and a cup of coffee in her hands.

"Sweetheart." She looked up as her father ran in and came to her side. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah." She said numbly.

Quentin exhaled. "Looks like Daily was behind this whole thing." He said. "We found the accelerant that he used to torch the Langford Institute in his apartment."

"I thought it was Sebastian." Laurel said, in shock. "I was so sure."

"Yeah. Well, that's the thing about the booze and the pills." Quentin said. "You know, same thing that dulls your pain clouds the judgment."

Laurel gave him a sad smile, but allowed herself to be pulled in for a hug.

"Can we have a minute?" the two looked up to see Adam Donner standing there, a serious look on his face.

"Yeah." Quentin said with a sigh, rising and moving off so the two could talk.

"Are you here to say, I told you so?' Laurel asked.

"We're dropping the possession charges and you won't be charged in Daily's murder." He told her. "It was clearly the work of the vigilante, Prometheus."

"You don't seem that thrilled for me." She noted.

"Are you going to look me in the eye and tell me you don't have a substance abuse problem?" he asked her. Her silence was all the answer he needed. "The DA's office has a generous severance package." He told her.

"Wait!" Laurel shot to her feet. "Wait, let me explain to DA Spencer. I can-I can tell her everything!"

"This isn't coming from Spencer, Laurel." Donner said. "This is me. I'm the one that hired you. I'm sorry." He told her sincerely. "But you're done." He walked off, leaving Laurel devastated and alone once again.

 **The Lair**

Nathan walked in wearily. Helena, Skye, and Lyla were sitting there, waiting for him.

"Are you doing okay?" Lyla asked.

"I'm better after talking it over with Chien." He admitted as he looked into their eyes. "There is something I need to tell you two. And I want you to hear it from me." He told them about his child, and like Chien had said, it changed nothing about his relationship with them, which made him feel like more of idiot for thinking it would in the first place.

A short time later Nathan came upstairs, dressed in his civilian clothes. Thea was sitting at the bar doing paperwork while Roy was wheeling a keg to the back. "Hey." He said. "Slow night?" Roy steadfastly ignored him as he walked to the back. "Something I said?" Nathan asked his sister.

"Don't take it personally." She said. "He won't even make eye contact with me."

"Something happen?" Nathan asked.

"He put someone in the hospital." Thea said. Nathan tensed immediately. "He's a little stingy with the details, but…" she sighed. "You should have seen this guy. I don't understand how any human could have done that to another. Each day, he becomes more and more like somebody I don't even know. He won't even listen to me." She said, near tears.

"I know someone he'll listen to." Nathan said quietly.

 _ **Five years ago-**_

 _**Sara, are you still there? **_

 _"When you first found me, I felt like you were my savior." Sara said. "And letting me into your work, I felt like I was a part of something bigger."_

 _"You are, Sara." Ivo assured her._

 _"It was only because I didn't want to see what you were really doing." Sara said, her voice firming up with her resolve. "I mean, what you did to those people on the boat, and how you tortured them for your so-called science… how I was just glad that I wasn't one of them." She paused, taking a breath. "But now I'd rather be dead than keep being a part of this." She told him._

 _"You ungrateful bitch." Ivo said after a moment, the mask finally coming off for good. "You think you know what torture is? You have no idea. But I will show you." He promised her. "I am going to hunt you down. Both of you, and I will show—"_

 _Sara turned off the radio. She stood there for a moment, allowing the silence to soothe her. Then she turned around-_

 _To see Nathan standing behind her._

 _At once she knew. She knew he had known she would go for the radio to try and reason with Ivo. And he knew that Ivo would more than likely reveal his true self to her._

 _Nathan slowly walked up to her, and she handed him back the radio. "Let's go find Slade." She said._

 _ **Present**_

 **Slades Office**

Sebastian Blood walked into the darkened office of Slade Wilson, flanked by three security guards.

"It's done." He called out. "They think it was all Daily. He sacrificed himself for our cause."

"A good start." Slade's voice called out. Blood paused and fearfully looked around. "But the magnitude of your negligence requires a greater sacrifice."

Suddenly Deathstroke was there, in full armor, wielding his sword like a surgeon. He stabbed Blood in the leg, sending the man to the ground, before pulling the sword out and slashing the chest of the first bodyguard. A hard kick sent the second flying across the room where he crashed to the floor, but not before his head hit the back of a chair on the way down. Deathstroke spun and slashed the throat of the third man. The first guard came back, swinging wildly for the fences, but Deathstroke easily ducked under the wild swing and slashed his chest again, sending the man to the ground. He spun back to the third, who was grasping at his throat trying to stem the bleeding, and punched him hard in the throat, killing him.

Blood was trying to pull himself up when the sword came to rest on the side of his neck.

"Your incompetence has now cost four lives, alderman." Slade said, pulling off the armored helmet to glare at the man with his one good eye. "Fail me again and yours will be the fifth." He pulled the sword away and Blood collapsed back to the floor. When he looked back up again, Deathstroke was gone.

 **Alley Outside Verdant**

Roy was finishing up stacking the empty kegs when he heard the distinct sound of an arrow being drawn and fired. Roy looked up to see his red arrow embedded in the telephone pole.

"If that was supposed to go through my other leg, you missed." Roy said tiredly.

 **"You seem to be healing pretty well."** Prometheus said, walking down the alley towards the boy.

Enraged, Roy ran at the vigilante. He swung wildly, but Prometheus expertly dodged out of the way. Roy's third wild punch took out a chunk of bricks on the side of the building, and he staggered back down the alley as the vigilante stood tall. **"You're stronger, you heal faster, but you're not in control."** He said. **"The serum that you were exposed to, it changes your body but it also warps your mind."**

"How do you know so much about it?" Roy demanded angrily. Prometheus picked up a brick.

 **"I've seen it before. And because I have something similar in me as well."** Prometheus admitted as he crushed brick in his hands to dust. Roy turned to look at the vigilante. **"It twists men. Turns them into someone they don't recognize. Someone dangerous."** He said.

"Maybe you should put another arrow through me." Roy said. "This time through my heart."

 **"There's another way, Roy."** Prometheus said. **"I can teach you to control your new ability. And to control yourself. Let me help you."**

Roy looked Prometheus in the eyes. "When do we start?" he asked.

 **Chapter end**

 **Took a while to get this done while I was studying for my Calc 2 test. Also, couldn't make up my mind on who the lemon should be with before I decided on Chien.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Black Arrow 33: No Tremors**

 **Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth 0 Laurel, Lena Luthor,**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Nyssa, Samantha Arias, Wonder Woman, Lady Shiva(Young Justice)**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Poison Ivy, McKenna Hall, Older Nora, Harley Quinn,**

 **Can't make up my bloody mind: Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl, Indigo(After being reprogrammed),**

 **Not happening: Moira, Thea, Carrie Cutter, Amanda Waller, Eliza Danvers, Caitlin Snow, Isabel Rochev, Alex Danvers, Dinah Drake, Loise Lincoln aka Killer Frost, Earth 2 Laurel, Evelyn Sharp,**

 **I would like to apologize, since I have done this before, but no Earth 2 Laurel in harem. Having 2 Laurel's is kind of redundant.**

 **I don't have a good actor in mind for Shiva, but since she will show up here soon, just imagine her Young Justice incarnation for looks and voice.**

 **Chapter 33**

 **Abandoned Warehouse in the Glades**

Nathan had begun his training of Roy the best way he knew how, considering Roy had that unstable Mirakuru in him. Roy stood sullenly behind a table, slapping water out of a large bowl as Prometheus paced around the room, lazily swinging a Singapore Cane.

 **"Again."** Prometheus ordered.

"You know, I slapped water out of a bowl yesterday." Roy said crossly. "And I slapped water out of a bowl the day before."

 **"You must be getting pretty good at it."** The vigilante joked.

"Yeah, well, I can't wait to get attacked by a dog dish." Roy said sarcastically.

 **"This is how an archer builds arm strength. It's also an exercise to help someone who's got superstength learn control so they can act normal,"** Nathan told him.

"I'm not sure if you've been paying attention, but strength isn't my problem." Roy replied shortly.

 **"Like I said, controlling it is. This exercise helps you learn that. I did the same thing to learn how to control my new strength."** Nathan said. **"Again."**

Roy snarled at the vigilante, and then drove his fist down. He punched through the bowl and the table both with ease, and when he withdrew his hand, there wasn't a scratch on it.

 **"And that is how you nearly killed a guy you didn't mean to and put him in the hospital last week."** Prometheus pointed out.

"How'd you know about that?" Roy demanded, looking at his trembling hand. He quickly shoved it into the pocket of his hoody. "It's none of your business."

 **"You made it my business when you agreed to let me help you."** Nathan replied harshly, and then continued in a quieter voice. **"I knew someone like you. Someone injected with the Mirakuru. He was my friend, like an older brother."** He said painfully. **"But it warped his mind to the point where I didn't even recognize him anymore. And he became my enemy."**

"Who was this guy?" Roy asked. "How come I've never heard of him? Or that Mirakuru?" Silence. "Is there anything you can tell me about him?" Roy asked in frustration.

 **"Yeah. It got so bad that I had to put an arrow through his eye."** Nathan said coldly.

 **Five years ago-**

 _Nathan and Sara were slowly making their way through the forest, using the motion tracker to find Slade._

 _"If I'm reading this right, then Slade is back at the cave." Nathan said, looking at the display as he walked._

 _"Well, why would he go back to where the graves are?" Sara wondered._

 _"We'll find out when we find him." Nathan said tiredly._

 _"And when we do, you can't tell him." Sara reminded him._

 _"Tell him what?" Nathan asked._

 _"Don't talk to me like I'm other people." Sara said, reaching out and stopping Nathan. "You've got that look on your face. The one where you blame yourself for her death." She told him._

 _"Because I do, Sara." Nathan said solemnly. "It should have been me."_

 _"Don't say that, it's not true." Sara protested. "And even if it was, nothing good comes from telling Slade that in the state he is in. He's getting his emotions confused. And that makes him dangerous." She reasoned._

 _Nathan looked at her, annoyed because he knew she was telling the truth and that it was a bad idea to tell Slade. Then the tracker beeped twice and died. Nathan shook it, then slapped it on the side a few times, but got nothing._

 _"Great." He sighed in aggravation._

 _"You still know how to get to the cave?" Sara asked._

 _"Yeah. It's this way." He said, leading her onwards._

 **Present**

Moira was headed towards the door when she saw something she didn't see very often anymore. Thea, lounging on one of the couches in the den.

"Thea? What are you doing home?" she asked, stepping into the den. "I thought you were staying at Roy's."

"Just needed a little 'me' time." She replied, glancing at the nice outfit her mother had on. "What's with the fancy-fancy?"

"Oh, I'm- I'm going out to dinner." Moira said nervously. "With Walter." She added.

Thea perked up. "Like a date?" she asked.

"Like a dinner." Moira clarified. "Truly, I don't know what the evening holds." She looked at Thea in concern. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Thea sighed. "Mostly." she added. "Uh… It's Roy. He had some trouble last week, and I don't know how to help him." She confided.

"Do you want me to stay home?" Moira asked. "I can call Walter and we can reschedule."

"Absolutely not." Thea said sternly. "If you and Walter are going to patch things up," she noted her mother's wary look. "No pressure." Thea said with a smile. "But you're going."

"It may be nothing." Moira hedged.

"Only one way to find out." Thea said with a grin.

 **Laurel's apartment**

Quentin knocked on the door, and as soon as she opened it he barged right in.

"No, please, Dad, come right in." Laurel said sarcastically.

Quentin looked around at the messy apartment in dismay. "Well, I guess you're going for that lived-in look."

"Can't afford a housekeeper without a job." She said wryly.

Lance noted the many empty wine bottles lining the shelves. "Got enough beverage money, I see."

"I'm going to need to crack open another bottle if we're going to fight." Laurel said, sitting back down on her couch and picking up her book.

"I didn't come here to fight." Quentin said.

"Then why are you here?" she asked. "Because I'm fine, really. In fact, I have a job interview. At Joanna's new firm." She added.

"That's good. Good." Quentin said. "But the real reason I came here is—"

"Is because you realized that you didn't reach your weekly quota of reminding me of how much I'm ruining my life?" she said sarcastically.

"It's 'cause I miss you, Laurel." Quentin said, bringing her up short. He sat down across from her. "For a long time, it was just you and me. Whatever else was going on, no matter how bad either of us was doing, we didn't disappear on each other. Because you're my family. And I miss my family." He sighed. "So how about we have dinner?" he asked. "You and me, tonight."

Laurel was silent for a moment. "I already ate." She said finally.

"Yeah." He sighed. "How about tomorrow night?" he asked hopefully.

Laurel sighed. "Sure. Dinner tomorrow." She agreed.

"Thank you." Quentin said before showing himself out.

 **Lair**

Nathan was working out on the salmon ladder as Lyla, Helena, Natasha, Chien, and Skye watched.

"How's it going with Roy?" Lyla asked.

"Could be going better," he lunged up another notch on the ladder.

"I don't know the kid that well, but he seems to be five kinds of angry." Skye noted.

"Understatement of the week." Nathan grunted, rising another rung. "Roy was pissed off at the world before he was injected with Mirakuru."

"You say you've seen this before?" Natasha asked.

"Slade Wilson." Nathan said, lunging up another notch. "He was my mentor and friend before he and I were injected."

"Troubling use of past tense there." Skye noted.

"I tried to help him. Let's just say he was already too far gone. But I know more now, and I'm not going to make the same mistake with Roy. And if it's too much for him, I'll find a way to cure him." Nathan said as he rose on the rung again.

 **Warehouse**

 **Later**

Prometheus demonstrated an exercise on a wing chun dummy as Roy watched, unimpressed. Prometheus finished and backed off. **"Now you."** He told his protégé. **"Go slowly."** Roy approached the dummy and started throwing punches at the center column. **"Stop."** the vigilante ordered. **"This is not about learning to throw a punch. This is about learning to control your strength."** He reminded Roy.

"First water slapping, now this." Roy said as he slowly started to mimic Nathan's movements. "When are you going to run out of ways to make me look stupid?!" Aggravated, he launched a devastating single punch at the dummy, knocking the top off clean. "All I'm learning is new ways to get pissed off." He said, glaring at Nathan. "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm already pretty good at that."

 **"There's nothing wrong with anger, Roy. Anger can be useful. But you need to learn to channel it and control it. Otherwise, it's only a weakness,"** Prometheus reminded him calmly.

"Like putting the hurt on guys going after the city. Let me try hitting something that'll actually hit back." Roy asked.

 **"Too soon."** Nathan replied warily.

"Get me out there with you. One night." He begged. "All this, it would be a lot easier to take." Prometheus remained silent, considering. But Nathan ultimately shook his head, making Roy feel dejected.

" **Look kid, I get where you're coming from. All the strength makes you feel invincible, that you can take on any threat that comes your way. But that isn't how it works. You can still die. And right now, your rage controls you. Until you can somewhat control it, I can't trust that you won't end up hurting innocent people that you are trying to protect."** Prometheus said.

"Trust is a two-way street." Roy said, dejected and Nathan pondered what his next move concerning Roy should be.

 **Chinese restaurant**

 **Downtown**

Moira was led over to the table where Walter was sitting, and she smiled at her ex-husband.

"Moira." Walter said pleasantly as he rose. Moira walked faster towards him, but stopped when another man rose as well.

"Ah. I didn't realize we'd have company." She said warily.

"This is Mark Frances." Walter introduced. "Mark's CFO at Kardak Holdings. We've been putting in some hours with the party's election steering committee."

"Oh." Moira said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Mark said, shaking her hand.

"Those are words I'm not accustomed to hearing these days." Moira said with a wry smile as she took off her coat. Walter hung it on a nearby rack as she took her seat next to him.

"Oh, well." Mark was saying. "You were a lioness doing what she had to do to protect her cubs. You know, I'm not the only person in Starling who sees it that way."

"That's a comfort." Moira said.

"It's the truth. Please." He told her as they all sat down.

"Thank you." Moira said politely, then glanced over at Walter. "Well, it's unlike you to show such an interest in politics, Walter." She noted.

"It's part of my new position at the Starling National Bank." Walter said. "My Board of Directors is very concerned about the trajectory of the city."

"You mean Sebastian Blood." Moira surmised.

"Yeah." Mark agreed. "We believe that his policies will bankrupt Starling within the next eight months. Not that the average voter cares. They're all caught up in his charisma." He groused.

"And he's not running against a viable opponent." Moira noted, taking a sip of water.

"Blood's trounced every potential candidate we've focus-tested." Walter revealed.

"But we believe that he's vulnerable on regulation." Mark added.

"Even if he is, it hardly matters." Moira stated. "Banking regulations are an SEC issue. Starling City needs to use the means at a city's disposal."

Mark chuckled. "Walter said you were smart."

Moira looked at him, realization dawning over her face. "But you didn't invite me to dinner to hear my opinions. You want to hear my positions." She realized. "You want me to run against Sebastian Blood." She realized.

 **Glades**

Quentin led Laurel to their _'dinner'_ destination.

"I'm starving." Laurel said before she asked, "Where are we going?"

"It's little hole in the wall right here." Quentin said, leading her to the door. He opened it for her and she walked in, but stopped dead at what she saw.

It wasn't a restaurant at all, it was an A.A. meeting.

A circle of chairs had been formed and several people were already in the space, either sitting down and conversing or grabbing some snacks off the small table that had been set up. Laurel scoffed, then turned and walked right back out.

"Laurel, wait." Lance said, reaching for her arm.

Laurel yanked it away. "Don't touch me." She snarled. "I can't believe you would do something like this." She said once they were both outside.

"Well, you wouldn't have come otherwise." Lance said.

"Well, you got that right." She shot back.

"Laurel, you need help." Quentin tried.

"Not from them." She snapped. "There is not one person in that room who knows what I have been through."

"Yeah, you're right. Some of them, they've been through worse." Lance noted. "But for better or worse, everyone in that room needs to be there, and you need to be there. You think you're the only person, who ever got fired, who ever got their lives into a mess?" he asked. "You think again, kiddo, because you're not. Now, look, we're here now. So why don't you just stay for a bit?" he pleaded quietly. "You don't have to share or talk. You just listen."

Laurel looked around for a moment, thinking. For a moment, Quentin thought she might actually stay. "I thought I made myself clear." She said finally. "I'm hungry. And now I think I'll eat alone." She said, turning and stalking off into the night as Lance watched, helpless.

 **Five years ago**

 _Nathan and Sara walked into the cave, still populated with the skeletons of dead Japanese Imperial soldiers. That was all that was populating it, however, and Nathan sighed in frustration._

 _"He's not here." He growled._

 _"Where else could he be?" Sara wondered. "We already checked the plane."_

 _"I don't know." Nathan looked around helplessly, but then something caught his attention. There were drawings on the cave wall, and they looked somewhat familiar to him. "Do you remember seeing these before?" Nathan asked her._

 _Sara glanced at the drawings. "I didn't really look around." She said._

 _"They look familiar." Nathan said, continuing to stare._

 _"This could be Lian Yu." Sara guessed._

 _"No, I mean the calculations. I've seen those before." Nathan said, wracking his brains._

 _"Maybe the first time you were in the cave." Sara guessed._

 _"I don't think so." He said. Suddenly it clicked. "Fyer's launcher."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Oh, there were soldiers on the island last year, and they had a missile launcher." Nathan said off-handedly._ _"I saw one of these on the display. They're firing calculations…" then it fully dawned on him what he was seeing. "He's going to blow it up."_

 _"Blow what up?"_

 _"The freighter." Nathan said, bolting out of the cave. Sara followed right behind him._

 **Present**

 **Verdant**

Roy walked in, looking around and sighing in relief when Thea walked down the stairs towards him.

"Oh, thank God you're here, I need your help—" she started, but Roy interrupted her.

"I have to talk to you. It's important." He said urgently.

"Ok." She replied slowly. "You look stressed out, is everything ok?" she asked, worried.

"You have to leave town." He told her. "Grab your mother and your brother, if you can, and leave. It's just for a few days."

"A reason would be nice." Thea said, startled by his behavior.

"I need you to trust me, Thea." Roy said in a slightly panicked tone.

"I do." She assured him. "I just- I can't up and leave with my family without a reason." She argued reasonably.

"No, you have to." Roy said urgently.

"Roy, you're not making any sense right now." Thea said worriedly. "Would you just tell me what's going on?"

Roy grasped her by her upper arm. "Why aren't you listening to me?" he asked angrily, squeezing. "I need you to listen to me!"

Thea gasped in pain. "Roy, you're hurting me!" she exclaimed.

Roy let go like she was a piece of red-hot steel. He looked at his trembling hand in fear. "I didn't…I didn't… I didn't mean to." He stuttered as Thea looked at him in concern. "I'm sorry." He said.

"I know!" Thea called out, but Roy had already bolted out of the door.

 **Queen Manor**

 **Nighttime**

Walter had come to pay Moira a visit after there talk.

"Can I fix you a drink?" she asked him.

"Whatever you're having." He replied. Moira fixed him a small tumbler of scotch. "It was good to see you the other night, Moira." He began.

"It was lovely. It's been a while since I've had such a good laugh." Moira replied lightly,

"It was no joke, Moira." Water said. "Mark was telling the truth. A significant number of people in Starling City feel that your actions with Malcolm Merlyn were justified to protect your family. 43.6%, in fact." He revealed.

"You polled people about me?" Moira asked in surprised.

"Prudent course of action when vetting a potential candidate, yes." Walter noted blithely.

"1,500,000 in Starling City. I'd think you could find someone not responsible for nearly destroying it with an earthquake machine." Moira quipped.

"Not with your name recognition." Walter returned with a grin. "We need a game change candidate, Moira. And there's no one in Starling with a higher profile than you."

"Charles Manson is rather well-known, and no one is going to vote for him." Moira pointed out.

"True." Walter agreed. "Equally true, voters like redemption stories. Bill Clinton, Elliot Spitzer, Martha Stewart."

"Oh, I don't believe she ran for office." Moira said.

"But if she had, she would have won." Walter replied with a smile.

"Would have won what?"

Walter looked behind him and smiled. "Ah, Thea." He said happily, rising from his seat and giving her a hug.

"Mmm, what's going on?" Thea asked, joining them.

"I'm just convincing your mother to run for mayor." Walter told her.

Thea blinked. "Of what?"

"You see?" Moira said with a chuckle. She looked at Thea in concern. "Sweetheart, are you all right?"

Thea rolled her eyes. "You really need to stop asking that." She said, taking a seat on the love seat. "Are you serious?" she asked Walter.

"It's hard to believe, I know." Moira started.

Thea shook her head. "No. No, it's not." She said, surprising both of the adults. "Look, this is actually the first election I can vote in, and…vas a newly minted voter, I don't think it sounds that crazy."

"From out of the mouths of babes." Walter said to Moira, who actually started to consider the idea for the first time.

 **Glades Warehouse**

Roy walked in as Prometheus knelt in the middle of the room.

 **"You're late."** He noted.

"I tried to get my girlfriend to leave town." Roy said. Nathan's eyes widened, and he glanced over his shoulder at the teen behind him. "But she won't."

The vigilante rose. **"You cannot bring her into this."** He told Roy.

"But how am I supposed to lie to her and protect her at the same time?" Roy asked. "How do you do it? How do you keep secrets from people in your life?" he demanded.

 **"By remembering it's the only way to keep them safe."** Nathan said.

"No, keeping them safe is what keeps them safe." Roy shot back. "Telling people the truth. But you, you won't tell me anything. Not about the Mirakuru, and this other guy. And you got me slapping water and hitting dummies instead being out there, putting the hurt on the people that deserve it!"

 **"Roy, calm down. Everything that I've done has had a reason."** Prometheus said coldly.

"No." Roy argued. "I need to protect Thea." He turned to walk off, but Prometheus grabbed him by the arm.

 **"She's in danger from you**." Nathan reminded him. **"I think you've done enough."**

"Let go of me." Roy said tersely.

 **"Roy…"**

"I said let go of me!"

 **"Get a grip."** Prometheus ordered. **"If not for yourself, then do it for Thea."**

Roy yanked his arm free. "What the hell do you know about Thea?" he demanded. "Don't you talk about her!" Roy took a wild swing that Nathan easily sidestepped. Roy went staggering away from the vigilante, but quickly came back. Nathan ducked around the wild swings, grabbing the neck of his hoodie and twisting it, then spinning around so that he was behind Roy. He held him still for several moments, cutting off his air, before he relaxed his grip slightly.

 **"Are you done?"** Prometheus demanded. Roy took a moment, appearing to calm himself down. But then suddenly he spun and lashed out, striking out at Nathan's chest, but Nathan caught the blow and held him there with his superior strength. Nathan then got inside Roy's guard and tripped him, causing Roy to hit the cement on his back. Roy frantically got up only to see Prometheus was gone.

"Behind you." Came a voice that Roy, in his red haze, did not immediately recognize. He turned around a punch the Vigilante in the face. Only for the vigilante to move his head to the side a bit, completely uninjured. It was then that the red haze faded and Roy noticed the mask of Prometheus being held at his side. Roy's eyes moved back up to the face of Prometheus to see the face of Nathaniel Queen.

Roy stared at him in amazement. "You're…"

"Yep." Nathan said. "I know I've been somewhat of a hardass…"

"Somewhat?" Roy scoffed.

Nathan shrugged, "Okay fine, a really big hardass. Look, the last time I tried to help someone in your condition, it didn't go very well. I thought maybe some training to control that strength would be to your benefit," Nathan stepped closer to Roy, "But something you said the other day clicked with me. Perhaps a little trust would be the better alternative for helping you."

"Last year, you saved my life." Roy told him. "And I don't mean from the guy who kidnapped me. I mean, you… you saved me. You gave me purpose." He said, gratefully. He held out his hand.

Nathan took his hand and shook it. "And if you still want in, we're just getting started."

 **Five years ago**

 _Nathan and Sara ran through the forest towards the wreckage of Fyers camp. They had almost made it when they reached a small clearing._

 _"Slade?" Nathan called out, looking around._

 _But it was Sara who spotted him first. "Nate!"_

 _Just ahead of them was Slade, who was busily reprograming the missile launcher. "Slade!"_

 _"Get back!" he ordered._

 _"We know you're targeting the boat." Nathan said._

 _"I'm going to send that son of a bitch to the bottom of the ocean." Slade growled._

 _"You're going to destroy our only way off of the island! We may not get another chance!" Nathan argued._

 _"As long as Ivo is dead, it's worth it." Slade said manically._

 _"I can't let you do it." Nathan said as his eyes turned red._

 _Slade heard and pulled his gun. He held it on Nathan with a crazy gleam in his eyes. "Get back, or so help me, I will put you down!"_

 _Nathan swatted the gun out of Slade's hands and pushed him up against launcher, holding him there._

 _"Think about Shado!" Nathan shouted._

 _"I am thinking about her!" Slade roared._

 _"There's something I have to tell you about Shado." Nathan said as Sara looked on, horrified. "It's something you deserve to know. She loved you, Slade." He continued, to Sara's relief and Slade's anguish._

 _"I know, it was not the way that you wanted her to, but she loved you. And she wanted you to make it home. She wanted you to see Joe again. She wanted you to hug your son." He said as Slade started to sob. Nathan slowly rose to his feet. "I know you're angry. And I know you want revenge. So do I, but if you destroy Ivo's freighter, Shado will have died for nothing."_

 _Slade finally relaxed and Nathan stepped back, as Slade collapsed against the launcher. He moved the gun from his left hand to his right before setting it down on the base of the launcher. "What is happening to me?" he asked shakily, looking at his trembling hand._

 _Nathan took the gun and held it loosely at his side. "It's the Mirakuru, Slade. It's messing with your head." He admitted. "I am not going to let you go through it on your own." He vowed._

 _"The man who killed Shado is still out there." Slade said, trembling with emotion. "And whether that freighter's on the bottom of the ocean or not, we're still stuck on this island."_

 _"Not for long." Nathan said. "Because we're going to take the freighter." He declared._

 **Arrow Lair**

 **Night time**

Skye was sitting at the desk while Nathan was doing one handed pushups without a shirt and Natasha was working the Salmon ladder as Lyla paced the room. Helena was out handling vigilante business for the night with Chien shadowing her.

"So…the secret society gets a new member." Natasha noted as she moved up a rung. "Where is he now?"

"Home." Nathan said as he finished his set. "He's processing."

"Speaking of processing, didn't this all start because you were worried that Roy's marble collection was on the short side?" Skye asked as she made a gesture with her fingers.

"She has a point, Nathan." Lyla said. "Roy's a loose cannon. Now he knows your secret."

"You're right, and it was risk." Nathan admitted. "On the island, Sara told me that love is the most powerful emotion. Well, Roy's emotional anchor seems to be Thea. Prometheus couldn't get Roy to think about Thea." He admitted. "But Nathaniel Queen can."

 **Queen Manor**

 **Next night**

Moira answered the door, welcoming Walter in.

"I was glad to receive your email." He said, stepping back into the house. "Does it portend what I'm hoping?" he asked.

"I'm going to run." She declared.

"What changed your mind?" he asked, then he realized. "Thea." he said simply.

"Hmm. She reminded me that I still owe this city." Moira said. "And I want to be remembered as something more than Malcolm Merlyn's pawn."

"As you should." Walter aid warmly.

"But you know there was another reason for my reticence." She added.

Walter nodded. "You're afraid the people will learn that Robert wasn't her biological father." He surmised.

"I managed to get through a criminal trial without the truth coming out, but political campaigns tend to be a bit more adept at extracting skeletons from closets."

"But no one else knows." Walter said.

"Someone does. My OB, Dr. Gill." She said. "There were complications when Thea was born, and I had to tell him that Robert wasn't her father. If we're going to move forward, we need to make certain that he won't be a problem for us." She said as Walter looked on in agreement.

 **Arrow Cave**

 **Same Time**

Nathan led Roy down to his secret base.

"Is this the part where you kill me 'cause I know your secret?" Roy asked, only half joking.

"Do you actually think that I'd kill my sister's boyfriend?" Nathan asked.

"Well, you did shoot me in the leg." Roy pointed out. "Forgiven, by the way."

Nathan paused and turned back to Roy. "Thea." He stated. "It's still better that she doesn't know about any of this."

"I get the feeling that if I did tell her, that would be when you kill me." Roy noted.

"You should trust that instinct." Nathan said with a creepy smile.

"Ok." Roy gulped slightly. "All right. How many people know what- who you are?" he asked.

"More than I would like." Nathan said. "But these are the ones that matter." He led him into his lair. Past the display cases and rows of arrows, Nathan's partners walked up to the pair.

"Lyla Michaels, Helena Bertinelli, Daisy Johnson, Natasha Romanova." Nathan introduced.

"Does this group have a name? Like team Arrow, or something?" Roy asked, slightly overwhelmed.

"We don't call ourselves that." Nathan said quickly.

"I do. Occasionally." Skye said.

"Stop it." Nathan told her, though he knew she was teasing.

"Whatever." Roy said with a grin.

Lyla held out her hand. "Welcome aboard." She said as they shook hands. Skye, Helena, and Natasha did the same.

Before it could continue, Nathan's phone rang. He answered it, "Yeah."

"Are you near the club?" Thea asked.

Nathan sat in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm pretty close." He said. "Why?"

Up in the club, Thea glanced over at the bar, where a VERY intoxicated Laurel was happily leaning as she downed another drink. "Laurel's here. She doesn't look good." Thea told her brother.

Downstairs, Nathan dialed into the security cameras to get a view of the bar. He stared sadly at the screen as the formerly powerful attorney continued her spiral downwards.

Then, he experienced another memory flash, gripping his head.

 _ **Memory Flash**_

" _Just shut up for once. What the hell do you know about it? It's not like you ever had a family in first place!" Sasuke shouted at Naruto. "You were alone right from the beginning! What makes you think you know anything about it, huh!? I suffer now because I had those ties! How could someone like you ever understand what it's like to lose all of that!?" Sasuke then threw Naruto off of him and tackled him back into the lake._

" _It's too late for me, Naruto," Sasuke said as he fastened his headband and prepared to kill his only friend. "I can't turn back. Not ever."_

 **Memory Flash End**

Nathan grit his teeth as he pulled out his cell phone and called Constantine. "Constantine, get your British smoking ass to Starling City in one week! I'm calling in one of those favors you owe. And DO NOT try to hide from me. I will hunt you down and drag you here myself if I must!" He turned off his phone and headed upstairs after switching to civilian clothes.

Up at the bar, Laurel drunkenly leaned over and waved her arm. "Ohh! Excuse me." She said, catching the bartender's attention. "Can I get something with olives? I don't care what it is, as long as there are a lot of olives." She asked.

Nathan moved up next to her and leaned in. "How about coffee?" he suggested quietly.

"Coffee and olives? Bad combination." Laurel said, stating the obvious.

"What are you doing?" he asked as Thea walked up and took position on the other side of her.

"This is where it's happening, right? The big club?" Laurel said jovially.

"Here you go, Martini, triple olives." The bartender said, handing the drink to Laurel.

"Thanks." She said, taking it and managing not to spill it.

Thea took the drink from her hand. "Laurel, go home." She said, placing the drink back on the bar.

Laurel stared at the girl for a moment, and then laughed. "Thea Queen, telling me enough is enough. Now that is rich." She said snidely.

She sneered at her. "Fine. Bar me from your bar. That's today's theme, right? Disbarment."

Nathan blinked in surprise. "Laurel, are you being disbarred?" he asked in shock.

"Yeah, looks like my law career's over." She said. Suddenly she was smiling again. "But you know what? Maybe Thea here can hire me as a waitress." She said sarcastically. Thea looked at her, unimpressed. Then Laurel turned to Nathan. "Or, Nate, I could come be your secretary."

"Okay, that's it, I'm taking you home." Nathan said as he swept Laurel off her feet and carried her out to his car.

 **Laurel's apartment**

Nathan carried Laurel into her apartment. "Okay, let me down." Laurel demanded as he opened the door for her. He let her down and she immediately went for the booze and drugs. Nathan, still reeling from his memory flash closed the door behind him and marched after her, not noticing his eyes had become red with slit pupils.

Laurel reached a half full bottle of wine and was about to take a swig when Nathan took the bottle from her hand and threw it against the wall, shattering it and spilling what was left.

"What the hell, Nathan!? That bottle cost me 50 dollars!" Laurel drunkenly demanded, when he turned to her and she saw his unnatural eyes.

Nathan calmed down enough to turn his eyes back to normal and gripped Laurel's arms roughly and made her look him in eye. "This has gotten out of hand and it's time to stop. Laurel, I respected your wishes to grieve for Tommy alone and have some but if this is where it leads, I'm done with it!"

"Look at yourself!" Nathan said as he forced her look at the mirror. Her lips were thinning, her eyes were listless, and her hair was limp. She looked and felt dead inside. Nathan turned her back to him. "You are slowly killing yourself with this addiction! I'm sorry that I haven't been there for you. I should never have left you alone, but I'm here now. And I swear to god, you are going to get help and get over this, starting with the next AA meeting. You are going to it, even if I have to drag you there kicking and screaming!"

Laurel's world started to spin before she could respond and soon, the spinning became too much. She collapsed in his arms as he looked her over before calling and ambulance.

 **Chapter end**

 **Sorry for taking so long, I wasn't sure what to do with this chapter. Next time, Nyssa and Shiva come to take Sara back.**


	34. Heir to the Demon

**Confirmed Harem Members: Talia al Ghul, China White, Helena Bertinelli, Lyla, Sara Lance(eventually), Kara Danvers(eventually), Earth-0 Daisy Johnson(Eventually), Earth-0 Natasha Romanova(Eventually), Earth 0 Laurel, Lena Luthor,**

 **Strong Likelyhood: Nyssa, Samantha Arias,**

 **Maybe/Up for debate: Poison Ivy, McKenna Hall, Thea**

 **Can't make up my bloody mind:**

 **Not happening: Moira, Carrie Cutter, Amanda Waller, Eliza Danvers, Caitlin Snow, Isabel Rochev, Alex Danvers, Dinah Drake, Loise Lincoln aka Killer Frost, Earth 2 Laurel, Evelyn Sharp, Imra Ardeen/Saturn Girl, Indigo(After being reprogrammed), Wonder Woman, Older Nora, Harley Quinn, Lady Shiva**

 **I have been doing a lot of thinking on this story going forward. I have every intention of finishing it, but I needed some time to think about what I'm doing with this fic. Given certain plot points down the line, I am reconsidering my position on Thea as love interest. I have also decided no Wonder Woman. There are too many women in this already and it's really tough juggling them all at once.**

 **Also, I'm probably gonna take down Ultraman and redo it, because I think I had a good idea there, but it's gotten out of hand, and I need to rework it.**

 **Black Prometheus 34: Heir to the Demon**

 **QC**

At Queen Consolidated, Nathan was in a meeting about his mother's announcement for the Starling City Mayoral office. They were using his boardroom where Moira, Thea, Walter and Moira's advisor, Mark Francis were meeting about what to do.

"A successful Mayoral campaign isn't about polling, it isn't about fundraising, or hot button issues. It's about connecting with people. That's why right after we announce tomorrow, Moira, I want to get you in front of as many cameras as possible. Morning shows, talk shows—"

"Mark, I want to help rebuild the city, not pander to it." Moira told him.

"It's not pandering mom, it's campaigning." Nathan told her.

"Let the people get to know the real Moira Queen, and they are going to fall in love with you." Mark said.

"Speaking from experience, this man knows what he's taking about, Moira." Walter said as Moira smiled.

After the meeting was over, he then got a call on his phone from his clone he stationed to watch Laurel.

"What is it?" Nathan asked.

"Laurel's awake." The disguised clone said.

 **Hospital**

At the hospital, Laurel was in a room she was taken after she fell unconscious last night. She was sitting on a hospital bed as her father and mother were next to her. Nathan had stayed with her as long as he could last night, but he had to leave real quick to handle that meeting with his mom's campaign. They heard a knock on the door and Nathan walked in.

"Nathan." Mrs. Lance said.

"Mrs. Lance." Nathan said with a smile as she hugged him.

"I came back as soon as I heard." Mrs. Lance said.

"Thanks helping her." Mr. Lance said as he awkwardly shook Nathan's hand.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" Nathan asked Laurel.

"I've been better." Laurel said.

"Don't worry, baby. We're going to get you all the help you need. There's a great rehab right outside of Starling, they got a bed waiting for you—"

"Dad, I already told you. I didn't OD. I didn't take any pills last night. I swear." Laurel said.

' _No, but you were drunk.'_ Nathan thought.

Then a nursed walked in. "Laurel. The Doctor wants to check your eye."

"What happened to her eye?" Nathan asked.

"Minor subconjuctival hemorrhaging. Probably from hitting her head when she lost consciousness. After the exam, we can discharge her." The nurse said.

Nathan then walked up to her. "You feel better, ok." Nathan said as he saw her eye, seeing the orange specks in her lovely green iris.

"Thank you." She replied as Nathan kissed her head. He whispered to her, "You're not off the hook yet. But we'll talk more when your better, okay?" Nathan got up and left Laurel with her parents, considering that maybe she had finally gone too far and she needed to get back under control.

 **Prometheus Lair**

Back at the Prometheus cave, Nathan arrived to see Helena, Skye, Lyla, and Natasha watching Sara do the Salmon Ladder exercise. "She's been doing that for like an hour." Skye said as Sara finished and dropped down and grabbed a towel.

"You saw Laurel. Is she going to be ok?" Sara asked.

"She'll be okay." Nathan told her.

"Hey, thanks for calling me. And I never did ask you—how did you find me?" Sara asked.

"You really think I would let you slip through my fingers a 3rd time?" Nathan asked rhetorically and Sara looked at him for a moment.

"I should get going." Sara said as she walked over to pack her stuff.

"So that's it? You're back in town for 24 hours, now you're going to run away again?" Nathan asked.

"The League of Assassins is still after me, Nate. And staying in town would only put my family at risk." Sara said. "I only came back because Laurel was in trouble."

"Well, she's still in trouble, Sara. Your entire family needs you." Nathan said, before he looked at her in the eyes, "And so do I."

"I can't stay." Sara said as she turned away, continuing to get her stuff.

"Natasha, do me a favor and dig up a copy of Laurel's blood work from the hospital, please." Naruto said.

"Sure, what are we looking for?" Natasha asked.

"I saw something suspicious in Laurel's eyes and I just want to make sure I'm not imagining it." Nathan said.

Then the special phone vibrated as she saw it was McKenna. "McKenna Hall," Lyla said as she handed Nathan the phone.

" **Hello, Detective**." Nathan said.

"Put my daughter on." Lance said, as he somehow got the phone from McKenna, again. As Nathan walked up to Sara who nodded no, not wanting her dad to know she was back. "I know she's there."

Nathan then handed Sara the phone and talked to her dad. She left to go meet him soon, and Lyla came up with something on a tablet to show Nathan. "What is this, Lyla?" Nathan asked.

"Earlier this morning, an ARGUS alert was tripped at the airport. Given who she is, I figured you would want to see." Lyla played the video for Nathan and he was annoyed. After it finished, Nathan handed it back to her and picked up his gear.

"Nate, what is it?" Helena asked.

"The League's back in the city." Nathan said as he got dressed in his Prometheus. "And before you say anything, these are not grunts like last time. This one is a high ranking member of the League, Helena. I don't want you fighting them. You are not ready for the Heir to the Demon. Not yet."

 **Later**

Sara was then walked down a lonely street under the bridge as the Prometheus watched her from afar, to make sure she was safe…well more of Nathan looking out for her. Then a league member descended from the bridge using a cloth ladder as Prometheus drew a arrow ready to fire. The league member landed in front of Sara with a dagger in her hand. The member then removed the hood to reveal she was a woman, and slowly walked up to Sara.

Nathan was about to let the arrow fly when the woman then pulled Sara close and kissed her as Sara kissed back. Nathan lowered his bow in surprise. _'Well, I certainly was not expecting that. Suddenly, the Heirs reason for being here make a lot more sense.'_

Sara and the woman then separated from the kiss as the woman smiled at Sara. "I've had better greetings." The woman said.

"I'm sorry, I did—I didn't know what you were going to do." Sara said.

"To be honest, neither did I." The woman said as she sheathed her dagger.

"Yeah, we should talk." Sara said.

"Of course. Do you need permission from your boyfriend?" The woman said as they turned to see the Prometheus standing there. "I am Nyssa. Daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Heir to the Demon."

" **I know who you are, Warith al Ghul. What are you doing in my city?"** Prometheus demanded.

"Sara swore her allegiance to the League of Assassins. It's time for her to return home." Nyssa said.

" **Perhaps you didn't get the message when I said all League members found in my city will be killed on sight."** Nathan said menacingly.

"It is not up you. And if I were you, I'd be more worried about my friend." Nyssa said as Nathan merely sidestepped and grabbed the sword that had come down, holding it there. He turned around, to see a League Member wearing what looked like an Anbu Mask from his life as Naruto. The was similar to the one Haku wore, but it had the red marking's of Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode on it, and the image of a coiling Chinese dragon.

" **Fool."** Prometheus said, " **It's useless to defy me."** Nathan reached behind with his other arm and threw the assassin over his shoulder, though she landed on her feet. Pulling out his own chokuto, he blocked a strike from her that came at a speed that most normal humans don't possess. Naruto parried a stab to his face, and then he got back in the swing of things as they parried each other several times, before they locked blades.

Nathan then pushed her off of him and she swung her sword at his face, who blocked it and then parried it, then kicked at her head as she ducked, but then missed as Naruto kicked her in the side with his other leg and kicked her away. Al-Tannin recovered in midair and landed in crouch, like a coiled dragon waiting to strike. Naruto assumed his own stance as they were about to continue their dance of death.

"Enough! Al-Tannin, stand down!" Nyssa shouted as Al-Tannin looked at Nyssa, as if annoyed that her superior was stopping her bout. Al-Tannin then stood back and sheathed her sword.

"Nyssa…please, would you give us a moment?" Sara asked.

"Take your time. Good-byes are never easy. Is that why I didn't get one?" Nyssa asked as she then signaled Al-Tannin. "Come." Nyssa said as they walked away.

"I can explain." Sara said to Nathan.

" **You don't have to. But you're not leaving. Not ever again."** Prometheus said.

"Then trust me." Sara said as she saw he was keeping his eye on Tannin, "Don't worry. Al-Tannin won't attack unless Nyssa allows her. She wouldn't dare disobey an order from her."

" **It's not that. She seems familiar, but I can't put my finger on it."** Prometheus said as he saw her leave with Nyssa and Tannin.

 **Sara and Nyssa**

Back with Sara, she and Nyssa were walking near the docks with Tannin walking behind them and keeping an eye on Nyssa.

"You're different." Nyssa said.

"I'm still me." Sara said.

"The Sara I know wouldn't have betrayed us and fled Nanda Parbat under cover of darkness." Nyssa said.

"I didn't have a choice, the earthquake—I needed to see my family, make sure they were safe." Sara said.

"And so they are. Now come home." Nyssa said.

"I can't. Look, I can't go back, Nyssa. I don't have much of a soul left in me, but what is left can't take the killing anymore." Sara said.

"You swore an oath. My father sent me here to make sure you honor it. One way or another." Nyssa said.

"We both know the real reason why you came here." Sara said as Nyssa smiled and held Sara's hand.

"When I found you, you were starving, and alone, simply waiting to die. The League took you in…nursed you back to health. The only reason you're alive today is because of me." Nyssa said.

"Hey, I wasn't with you because you saved me. I was with you because I loved you." Sara said.

"But not anymore." Nyssa said as tears began to form.

"Ra's listens to you. And you can ask him to release me." Sara said.

"My father has never released anyone from the league." Nyssa scoffed.

"He released Malcolm Merlyn." Sara said.

"An action he and the citizens of Starling almost came to regret." Nyssa said as Sara held Nyssa's cheek and hugged her close.

"Do what you have to." Sara said. Nyssa then reached for her dagger and tried to kill her then and there but she couldn't do it so she and Tannin left.

 **Arrow Lair**

Back at the cave, Nathan dropped down from the salmon ladder before moving on to swinging a sledgehammer on a large tire.

"It's been two hours and she should have gotten back in touch with me by now." Nathan said as he walked over to Skye. "Skye. Skye!" Nathan shouted as she jumped in shock.

"What?!" Skye shouted as Nathan looked at her weird. "Sorry. What?"

"Everything okay?" Nathan asked in concern as he walked over to her.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Its just…personal stuff happening up here." Skye said, pointing to her head. They then heard the door to the cave open and Sara walked in.

"The league is never going to let me go. At least if I'm halfway around the world, then I can keep my family safe." Sara said as she got her bag ready.

"Don't be so sure about that. I have that copy of Laurel's blood work you asked for, Nathan. She tested negative for drugs." Natasha said.

"Then, why did she collapse?" Sara asked.

"Because they found traces of snake venom in her blood. Tibetan pit viper venom." Natasha said as Sara took the file and looked over it.

"I fucking knew it." Naruto groaned to himself.

"Wait, so Laurel didn't OD?" Skye asked.

"She was poisoned." Sara said.

"She was poisoned by Nyssa, who did it to draw you back here. And it worked." Nathan growled said.

"My family's in danger." Sara said.

"They got to Laurel first, now they'll try for the rest of your family. We need to go." Naruto said as they both suited up to head to the hospital.

 **Laurel's Hospital Room**

Speaking of, in Laurel's hospital room, Laurel was sound asleep while her mother was looking over her. She went to fill her glass of water but the pitcher was empty. She walked out of the room and went to the water cooler to fill up the pitcher. But she was then grabbed from behind and smothered with a rag by the same man who poisoned Laurel.

The man then took Mrs. Lance from the hallway and to the parking lot where Nyssa and Al-Tannin were waiting in a truck. They put her in the back and drove away as the Prometheus and Sara arrived and trailed behind.

Nyssa then went to the back of the truck and used her bow to fire arrows at the vigilantes, aiming for Nate's bike. Prometheus drew his chokuto and deflected and slashed the arrows that were being shot at them. Nathan held out his fist and clenched it, blue energy coating the wheels of the van, slowly grinding it to a halt. The van halted to a hard stop, while Nate took a hard turn, scraping the side of the pavement as he brought his bike to halt a few feet from the truck.

"Go get your mother." Nathan said as he fired a shot from his bow, killing the driver. Sara pulled out her staff and ran up to the truck, only for Nyssa to step out and the two began fighting.

Nathan then blocked a sword strike from Al-Tannin. He forced her away and swung at her head, only for her to parry him. Nathan tried an uppercut to knock Al-Tannin's sword out of her hands, but the assassin deflected the blade, and spun to regain position. Nathan brought his sword down on Al-Tannin's with one hand, which was blocked, before spinning around, his twirling sword meeting Al-Tannin's two times, before Nathan finished his spin and sliced at Al-Tannin's chest, which was blocked. Nathan swiped at Al-Tannin's legs, which was parried, before swinging to decapitate the assassin, though Al-Tannin managed to block it, and force Nathan's blade to the side. Al-Tannin stabbed at Nathan's chest and Nathan parried her. Al-Tannin grabbed Nathan's free hand before she brought her blade down. Nathan brought his blade up and defended himself in the awkward position. Nathan grabbed Al-Tannin and threw her over his shoulder to force her off of him and allowing Nathan to regain his position.

They struck at each other several times, their swords causing sparks to fly everywhere. ' _This Assassin is starting to annoy me.'_ Nathan thought as his eyes turned red and began using Mirakuru level's of strength, jumping into the air after he tripped the assassin and bringing his fist down where her head was. His fist should have gone through her head, but something odd happened.

She caught him. She caught his fist in her hand. And then she pulled out a dagger and sliced his throat from ear to ear. Overcome with shock as he bled a river of blood from his sliced throat, he put his hand on his wound to give his healing time to fix it, only for Al-Tannin to stab him with his own Chokuto in the chest. Not letting up, the female assassin stabbed her Kris through his upper back, severing his spine, then sliced his eyes open with her dagger, causing him to shout in in pain as his concentration was broken, and the blue energy on the wheels of the truck vanished.

Al-Tannin pulled her Kris out of Nathan's back, before running over to truck and taking the driver seat. Nyssa, seeing this, then punched Sara in the face and kicking her to the ground before rushing back to the van, and since Nathan was incapacitated they got away. "NOOOOOO!" Sara shouted as she saw Nyssa get away with her mother.

 **Prometheus Lair**

Sara helped Nathan down to his lair, to the surprise of Natasha, Skye, Lyla and Helena.

"Oh my god, Nate!" Helena said in shock as she and Lyla took him from Sara's hands.

"What happened to you?" Lyla said in concern.

"I'll tell you in a minute. But I need to sit down first." Nathan said as his throat, spine, and chest were healed up, but he still couldn't see. The girls helped him to his chair and Lyla pulled off his mask, to see the blood around his eyes.

"Let me see him," Sara said as she pushed the other out of the way and looked at his eyes. "Your eyes are back for the most part, but you will still need a bit before you can see again."

Sara let his face go and took a few steps. "I'm kinda surprised. You didn't used to heal this fast."

"Some things have happened since then. Made me even stronger." Nathan breathed.

"Not to break the trip down memory lane, but what happened?" Natasha asked.

"They took Sara's mother. We managed to catch up to them and I used my new powers to stop the van. I killed the driver and Sara fought Nyssa. Then I fought the one in the dragon mask. Al-Tannin. She was good, and after an intense fight, I managed to trip her up. I would've killed her but she caught my fist. My fist, while I was using Mirakuru levels of strength. She then sliced my throat open, stabbed me in the heart with my own sword, severed my spine with her sword, and then cut my eyes open. Suffice to say, I couldn't keep up my concentration on my powers with all that."

"That shouldn't be possible, right? You said," Skye almost mentioned Slade but stopped and reframed her next words, "You said you got rid of all the Mirakuru right? She couldn't possibly have Mirakuru or is she some kind of alien?"

"I have no way of knowing. I was lucky she didn't kill me. She could have. I won't let her get the drop on me like that again." Nathan vowed before he chuckled sheepishly. "Now, Lyla, Helena, could you both please get my clothes and help back to our apartment? I'd rather recover at home." So the two ladies did just that while Sara went to go find her father and inform him of the bad news.

 **Hospital**

Back at the hospital, Officer Lance walked out to the back of the hospital where his daughter said that mom was taken. Mr. Lanced walked out of the back door of the hospital as Sara ran up to him and hugged him.

"Dad, it's my fault, I'm so sorry." Sara said.

"The assassin group that you're apart of, they took your mother." Lance said.

"Not exactly." Sara said.

"Well, what exactly?" Lance asked.

"A woman. Nyssa, she's an important figure in the league. And she poisoned Laurel. She took mom." Sara said.

"What, to get you to come back to the league?" Lance asked.

"To get me to come back to her." Sara said.

"Oh." Lance said as he understood her meaning. Then Sara's phone went off and Sara saw it was Nyssa.

"Nyssa, I am begging you, don't do this." Sara said.

"I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't listen. I thought it would be instructive for you to know what it feels like to suddenly lose someone you love. To have them ripped from your life without warning." Nyssa said.

"You do not want to hurt my mother." Sara said.

"You're right. I don't. You have one day, Al Taer Sahfer. Make the right choice." Nyssa said as she hung up.

"We have 24 hours." Sara said.

"Ok, Laurel's inside, she's losing her mind, I got to go. Keep me updated." Lance said as he walked back in.

Sara returned to the Prometheus cave as Skye and Natasha had been hard at work trying to find anything that could help find Nyssa and Al-Tannin, while Nathan recovered his eyesight at home with Lyla and Helena to keep him company.

"Did you guys find anything?" Sara asked.

"We researched the poison Nyssa used on Miss Lance." Natasha said.

"Luckily for us, Tibetan Pit Viper venom is surprisingly difficult to transport. It starts losing its potency the moment it leaves the fangs." Skye said.

"So it was bought locally?" Sara asked.

"Not bought, stolen." Natasha said.

"From where?" Sara asked.

"The zoo. A local break in. The perps didn't steal anything, so the cops chalked it up to a bunch of kids looking for a thrill." Natasha said.

"I pulled up the Zoo CCTV footage from the night of the break-in. I caught a plate. The car's a rental. Address is in the Glades." Skye said.

"Don't even think about going after the assassin without back up." Natasha said as she suited up.

"You wanna back me up?" Sara asked.

"With Nate out of commission for a while, I think he would feel better knowing the best female assassin in the world that isn't a part of the League of Assassin's is backing you up." Natasha said as Sara saw her point.

 **With Sara and her dad**

Sara was waiting in an alley as her father drove up and got out of his car. "So what exactly is the plan here?" Lance asked.

"We wait. Prometheus's associate will lead him right to us." Sara said as Lance nodded.

"You know, you never did tell me how you joined up with Prometheus in the first place. Where did you two even meet?" Lance asked.

"Vigilante club." Sara said as Lance exhaled and chuckled.

"Same old Sara. Well, not exactly the same." Lance said.

"I loved her, dad." Sara said. "Are you upset?"

"Honestly, Sara, to think what you've been through these past six years. The pain, the loneliness…I'm just happy to hear you had someone that cared for you." Lance said as Sara smiled. She then heard the sound of a fabric unfold and saw the league member use the cloth rope to descend from a roof and into the alley as a masked Black Widow followed.

Sara drew her bo staff while Natasha pulled out twin shock baton's and backed her up as the league member used a sword and dagger combo. The league member thrusts his sword at Sara who blocked the strike with her bo staff and then Natasha swung at his head with his bow but the league member ducked. The league member then did a spin kick at Natasha's head but Natasha ducked as Sara then blocked a dagger stab and then kicked him in the side but he stepped to the side to avoid it. The League member spun around, blocking and striking at the two vigilantes while Sara and Natasha worked in tandem to fight against him. Sara got punched across the face and knocked away as Natasha then blocked a sword slash. She then kicked the League member in the chest as he spun and got sucker punched by Officer Lance with a right cross and knocked on his back.

"What's the matter, they didn't teach you about right crosses in assassin school?!" Lance shouted.

Sara then grabbed the league member, choked the league member using her bo staff and then ripped off his hood. "Where is Nyssa?!" Sara yelled.

"Tell me where my wife is!" Lance shouted as the league member spoke Arabic. "What the hell is he saying?!"

"He's praying." Sara said as the league member then pulled out a vial and drank it. "No don't!" Sara shouted but it was too late as the man drank the vial empty and fell over dead.

"You son of a bitch!" Lance shouted as Natasha picked up the empty vial.

" **It's over, detective. He's gone."** Natasha said through the voice filter in her holographic mask as Lance exhaled in frustration and Sara comforted him.

 **Moira's announcement**

 **The next day**

The next morning, Nathan, Lyla, Helena and Skye were at the announcement rally for Moira's start of her mayoral campaign. Moira was talking to Thea while Skye and Nathan were hanging out as Lyla walked up to them. Skye were a bit pre-occupied and conflicted if she should tell Nathan something important.

"How's Sara holding up?" Lyla asked Nathan.

"Not well. And I need you to pick up the trail on Nyssa, because Mrs. Lance is running out of time." Nathan said, his anger at allowing this to happen burning him up inside.

"I'm on it." Lyla said as she walked away and Moira walked up to Nathan.

"Nathan. Ms. Johnson." Moira said as she greeted them and Skye didn't really pay them much attention as Moira hugged her son. "Oh, well, I haven't been this nervous since my wedding day. Both of them."

"Moira it's time." Mark said. "Nathan, are you ready to introduce your mother?"

"With pride." Nathan said as Moira kissed her son on the cheek. Skye turned away, uncomfortable, which didn't go unnoticed by Nathan.

"Skye…what's is going on with you?" Nathan asked as Moira walked up to the stand.

"And don't say—" "Nothing." "Don't say nothing." Nathan said to her. "The truth, please."

Skye felt conflicted as Nathan squeezed her hand in comfort. "You might have noticed I talk a lot." Skye said.

"It has not escaped my attention." Nathan said.

"You also may have noticed that I don't talk a lot about my family." Skye said.

"I have also noticed that." Nathan said.

"I barely remember anything about them. But what I do remember…how much it hurt when they were taken from me. And just the thought of losing someone that important to me again…"

"Hey." Nathan said as he comforted Skye. "You're not going to lose me. Whatever it is that's bothering you…is it about your family?"

"No. It's about yours. Like I said, I've discovered something that might change your mind," Skye said.

 **Cemetery**

With Sara, she was in the graveyard at the grave that was placed there when she was thought dead. Then her phone went off and she answered it to hear Nyssa.

"Time's up. Have you made your decision?" Nyssa asked.

"Let my mother go. And I will return with you to Nanda Parbat." Sara said as Nyssa let loose a sigh of happiness.

"You're doing the right thing, Sara. For both of us." Nyssa said as she hung up.

Sara looked at her grave and then took a vial out of her pocket and looked at it…and then called her dad. Speaking of her dad, he was with Laurel at her apartment. She was a wreck, still crying at her mother's kidnapping and no one knew where she was. Mr. Lance walked out of the kitchen carrying a cup of tea to help her.

"Here you go, sweetie. Is there anything else I can get you?" Mr. Lance asked.

"My mother." Laurel said, wiping the tears from her eyes as Mr. Lance decided to tell her.

"Laurel, there's something I got to tell you. It's about your sister." Mr. Lance said as Laurel looked at him.

"What about her?" Laurel asked but before Lance could speak, his phone went off.

He took it out and saw it was Sara so get got up to answer it. "Hello?"

"Dad, I found mom. Meet me at the Lower Boat yard in 30 minutes, and come alone. Don't tell the Prometheus or his associates." Sara said.

"Copy that." Lance said as he hung up and then looked at Laurel. "I got to go."

"What about Sara, Dad?" Laurel asked as Lance got his coat.

"I'll explain everything later, all right? Just sit tight." Lance said as he left and Laurel got up, thinking he got something on where her mom could be and wouldn't sit tight.

 **Back at the conference**

Back with Nathan, after hearing the revelation that Skye told him, pondered it for a moment before smiling at Skye, to let her know he was fine, which alleviated some of her worry. Walter was at the podium speaking to the crowd.

"I say this with confidence. Because the Moira Queen that I know is more than a successful CEO and philanthropist. She is a loving mother who has devoted her life to raising three wonderful children. Just to tell you how special she is, I'd like to welcome her son. CEO of Queen Consolidated, Mr. Nathan Queen." Walter said as everyone clapped and looked Nathan.

Nathan walked up to the podium. Lyla then arrived and stood beside Helena and Skye. Nathan stood at the podium as he exhaled in relief. "Thank you." Nathan said as he tried to figure out what to say. "Well, I'm here today to say a few words about Moira Queen. I bet many of you think that you know her, because you read about her in the press, or you saw her on TV. But I can promise you, You don't know my mother. You don't know her like I do. And you don't know what she's capable of when it comes to helping the people of Starling City." Nathan said as Moira smiled.

"Ladies and gentlemen…my mother, Moira Queen." Nathan said as everyone clapped and Nathan went to his mother and hugged her, he whispered into his ear. "I know the true about Thea."

Moira then went to the podium and put on her public face and smiled. "Thank you! Thank you, Starling City!"

 **Stuff**

After the announcement, Nathan, Helena, Lyla and Skye went back to the Prometheus cave to talk to Sara, as he hadn't heard from her and was getting concerned.

"Sara!" Nathan called out but she wasn't there and Skye noticed the vial of Snake Venom was gone.

"The Snake Venom, it's gone." Skye said.

"Sara found Nyssa." Helena said.

"And she's going to poison her?" Skye asked.

"No, she isn't." Nathan said as he realized what she was planning, "She's gonna poison herself, in the hopes that her death will allow her family will be spared. Activate her tracer, now!"

"You placed a tracer on her?" Lyla asked as Skye went to the computer.

"How do you think I found her?" Nathan said as went to his trunk and pulled out the pouch of island herbs. He then held it out to Helena, "Back me up on this."

"I thought you were afraid of me fighting them." Helena said.

"I was, and I still am. But I will need someone to administer to the antidote to Sara while I fight them." Nathan said Helena took the herbs.

 **With Nyssa**

With Nyssa and Al-Tannin, they were in an abandoned warehouse near the docks where they were holding Mrs. Lance hostage. Al-Tannin stood watch as Nyssa walked up to Mrs. Lance, who was tied up to a chair and cut her ropes.

"They're coming for you now." Nyssa said as they heard the door to the warehouse burst open.

"Dinah! Move away from her! Move away!" Lance shouted as he pointed his gun at Nyssa who stepped back as Dinah ran over to Quentin. "It's all right. It's all right." He said as he comforted her and then Dinah saw something she couldn't believe.

"Sara?" Dinah asked as Sara slowly walked up to her mother as her mother cupped her cheek.

"It's me, mom. It's me." Sara said as Dinah gasped, feeling that Sara was real and hugged her tight.

"Oh, my baby!" Dinah shouted.

"I love you so much, mom. I have to go." Sara said as she tried to walk away but her mother held onto her hand.

"What? What are you doing?" Dinah asked as Quentin began to pull her away.

"Dad, get mom out of here!" Sara said as Quentin pulled her away.

"What?!" Dinah shouted. "NO!"

Sara then walked forward but fell to her knees after a few steps. Nyssa ran to Sara as Al-Tannin went to her side to see what was happening. Nyssa looked at Sara and saw the discoloration in her eye. "You took the poison." Nyssa said. "No! NOO!"

"I won't go back. I can't take the killing anymore. It needs to end. If I have to die, so be it," Sara said to Nyssa as Mr. Lance ran back into the warehouse, hearing the screams. Nyssa then put Sara on the ground and stood up as Mr. and Mrs. Lance ran to their daughter.

"Sara! Delta Charlie 52 to Central, need back up at the Lower Boat yards. Ambulance, paramedics." Lance said over his radio as he and Dinah looked over Sara.

"If you want to be with your family so badly, they can join you in eternity." Nyssa told them as Lance took out his gun and pointed it at Nyssa's face.

"You get the hell away from my daughter." Lance told him as Nyssa grabbed the gun, smacked his arm out of the way and punched him across the face, sending him to the ground.

She then pulled out a knife from her pouch and raised it up but then it was knocked out of her hand by an arrow. She and Al-Tannin turned to see Prometheus standing near the other exit.

" **Either Sara lives or you both die. Make your choice."** Prometheus said as he unleashed a hail of shuriken at the two but Nyssa back flipped onto the table and grabbed her bow while Al-Tannin dodged them and ran at Prometheus. The real Prometheus came out of the shadows and grabbed Al-Tannin.

" **Let's take this somewhere else."** He said as he threw her through a portal that went to the streets outside. Prometheus threw another shuriken at Al-Tannin while Al-Tannin deflected them with her sword as she got up.

Prometheus drew his chokuto's and charged at Al-Tannin, as she jumped over him and slashed at his back but he blocked the sword. He shot out his leg to kick at her head but she ducked and kicked his leg out from under him, but Prometheus dove forward and forward rolled back to his feet. He then stabbed his sword down at Al-Tannin, but she rolled out of the way and his sword stabbed into the ground. Al-Tannin slashed the sword, hitting it hard as Prometheus used the momentum to spin his katana into reverse grip and slash at Al-Tannin's head but she blocked it and kicked him back.

Al-Tannin then kicked Prometheus in the head but he ducked and the two engaged in a heated sword fight with neither one letting up an inch. Al-Tannin would make on close slice at Prometheus's head while Prometheus who narrowly slash Al-Tannin in the side, both warriors weren't letting up. Al-Tannin then managed to knock one of Prometheus's sword out of his hand, leaving him with just one as Prometheus fought Al-Tannin sword for sword. Al-Tannin then made a wide swing at Prometheus's shoulder as Prometheus raised his sword up to block it and also raised his free arm up, locking Al-Tannin's sword with his sword and locking it in one of the blades on his gauntlet. The two glared at each other as their swords were locked, as Prometheus then pushed his sword and arm closer, closing the distance between him and Al-Tannin. He then pushed his sword and arm out, knocking Al-Tannin's sword away.

Al-Tannin then punched Prometheus in the face three times with her Mirakuru Strength, kicked him in the stomach and then elbowed him in the back. She then threw out a kick to his head but Prometheus grabbed her leg with his full powers activated and threw her over his shoulder and 10 feet away as she tumbled on the ground. While the real Prometheus was fighting Al-Tannin, Prometheus's clone was fighting Nyssa in an archery duel.

 **With Nyssa**

Nyssa had her compound bow ready as she climbed up some of the old boat scaffolds as she saw the Prometheus at the far side of the room, atop one of the old construction platforms. Nyssa fired an arrow while Prometheus just moved his head back to dodge it. He returned fire and she moved forward to avoid. He then fired another that she ducked under and she her own shot at his head that he dodged. He then fired three arrow's in rapid succession that she dodged.

Prometheus fired another at Nyssa, who was sliding down a rope and shot at her but she dodged it. Prometheus then jumped to the ground as Nyssa aimed an arrow at his heart.

" **Nyssa, stop this ridiculous fight. With every moment you waste my time fighting me, Sara draws closer to deaths door. Do you really want the woman you claimed to love to die, you fool?"** Prometheus said.

"Worry more about saving yourself." Nyssa said as she fired an arrow at him that he smacked away with his bow.

He then swung at Nyssa's head as she ducked and blocked a punch. Nyssa then swung her bow at Prometheus who blocked it with his bow, but then Nyssa punched his wrist and took hold of his bow and threw it away. Prometheus grabbed her arm and punched her in the face before delivering a swift kick to her gut that knocked the air out of her and sent her flying several feet away.

Nyssa tried to get up despite the pain, but Prometheus kneed her in the guts, causing her more pain, then kicked her in the shin, left leg, and face, knocking her to the ground. He slammed his foot into her face as she lay on the ground, knocking her onto her back.

" **Don't kid yourself, Warith al Ghul. You couldn't kill me even on my worse day."** Prometheus said as he pulled her to her feet before lifting her in the air and choked her with both hands, Nyssa gasping for air and struggling to breath.

" **I hope Talia will forgive me for killing her little sister."** The clone said and Nyssa didn't really register it.

"Don't kill her. Please." The clone heard as he saw Sara, helped by Helena, slowly walk up to them.

" **Sara…"** the clone said as he let Nyssa go as she tried to catch her breath. The clone ran up to Sara and hugged her for the real Nathan after he saw her eyes were normal and Helena confirmed she gave Sara the antidote, glad she wasn't dead as Nyssa looked at Sara. "No more killing. Nyssa, please." Sara said to Nyssa. Nyssa, her heart broken from Sara choosing someone else over her, couldn't find the strength to refuse her any further.

"Al Taer Sahfer. In the name of Ra's al Ghul…I release you." Nyssa said with a heavy heart.

Nyssa then left as Prometheus heard the police sirens and went to check on the real Nathan. Speaking of which, he was fighting Al-Tannin fist to fist as Nathan wasn't letting up and was slowly gaining the edge. Al-Tannin threw out a punch that Prometheus grabbed. Al-Tannin threw out another punch with her other hand and he grabbed that punch too. He then began to squeeze and twist her arms, forcing Al-Tannin to her knees in pain. Prometheus then punched her across the face sending her to the ground, as she then responded with a punch at his gut, which he knocked away. He then grabbed her arm and covered her in his blue energy to immobilize her and punched her hard in the face, that he sent her flying, whilst also shattering her mask.

Nathan leapt into the air as Al-Tannin rose to her feet, her mask broken and falling off her face, his hand clenched into a fist as he prepared to end her, but as he came down, he finally recognized why she was so familiar to him. And so he landed in front of her and pulled his own mask off, before pulling her own hood off, to his great shock. It was the face of his first and greatest love.

Shado Gulong.

"That's not possible. You're dead. You died in my arms 5 years ago." Nathan said in shock.

"I am as real as you are, Baobei," Shado said to him as she rose to her feet.

"But you-" Nathan said as he couldn't make sense of the Shado he knew, and the one before him.

"I can't explain now. I have orders I must follow." Shado said as she pulled Nathan in for a kiss. Too stunned to do anything, he just let her slip her tongue into his mouth before she pulled back, and was pleased that she left him speechless for a change. "I've missed you so much. I wish I could stay, but I can't. Just know that everything will be made clear soon."

With that, Shado disappeared into the night as Nathan was left reeling from the fact something else he thought was real, wasn't.

 **Queen Mansion**

Back at the Queen Mansion, Moira was watching the news coverage of her press conference on her new mayoral campaign. "Because Starling City is our city. And starting today, we are going to take it back." The played that part of her press conference as Moira just watched and had a drink as Nathan walked into the living room. Moira saw him, turned off the T.V and stood up.

"I know we need to talk." Moira said.

"No, you need to listen." Nathan said.

"Nathan, I only lied to Thea to protect her from Malcolm." Moira said.

"Look I don't care about Thea not being my full sister. It doesn't change anything. What I am mad about, is the fact that you didn't tell that I have daughter!" Nathan shouted at her.

"What are you talking about?" Moira asked.

"Samantha Arias," Nathan said as Moira was shocked. "I met her again recently. And I suspected her child's parentage since she had my eyes and was old enough to be mine, and one dna test later, I find out she is. Tell me, do I have other bastard children running around? Does Oliver? Was he even my real brother? Any other half-siblings you wanna mention, mother?" Moira didn't answer. Whether that meant any of it was true, was another matter entirely.

"I will keep up appearances for Thea's sake. Publicly I will continue to support your campaign. But privately…This won't keep us apart forever but right now, I cannot bear to look at you, mother." Nathan said sadly as he walked away.

"Nathan! Nathan!" Moira shouted as she watched Nathan leave. Nathan couldn't deal with this right now. He needed some quiet time.

 **With Sara**

Back with Sara, she and her family were at Laurel's apartment as Dinah was ecstatic about having her youngest daughter back home. Quentin was extremely happy to have her back as well and done with the League of Assassins. They then saw Laurel slowly walk into the room and get a glass of wine.

"I know you have a lot of questions." Sara said to Laurel.

"Nope." Laurel said.

"How could you not have any questions?" Sara asked.

"Because I already know all of the answers to them. How could you still be alive; where have you been all this time? Why didn't you call us? And the answer to all of them….is because it's Sara." Laurel said.

"Baby, don't do this—" "Dad, I swear, if you say one more word." Laurel said, stopping her father from speaking.

"Laurel, look. I know you're angry. And you have every right to be. But please don't take this out on dad. If you need someone to blame, blame me." Sara said.

"I do blame you, Sara. Every single thing that's gone wrong in our lives is your fault. You got on that stupid boat with my boy friend. You didn't call us to tell us that you were still alive, even though it probably would have saved Mom and Dad's marriage. And you brought some crazy assassin into Starling City who nearly killed mom and who poisoned me. You. You stole my whole life away from me. Now get out." Laurel told her.

"Laurel." "Get out." Laurel said as tears began to form in Sara's eyes. Sara then grabbed her jacket and walked to the door. She opened it, but then looked back at Laurel.

"I'm sorry." Sara said.

"I SAID GET OUT!" Laurel shouted as she threw her glass at the door as Sara left.

 **Nanda Parbat**

In Nanda Parbat, home of the League of Assassins, Nyssa and Shado returned to the Assassin headquarters after the confrontation with the Prometheus, as well as Nyssa's release of Sara from her position in the League. The two walked through the large complex that was the home and training ground for the League of Assassins, as the other members of the League bowed as they walked in. The two then walked into one of the large rooms of the compound, where there was a very large pool of water that seemed to be the center of attention in the room. There was a border put up around the water that showed the outline of a man lying in the water.

"Father." Nyssa said as she and Shado took a knee.

"My daughter. I assume that arriving by yourself and Al-Tannin, that Al Taer Sahfer is dead." Ra's said.

"No. I freed her from her oath in the League." Nyssa said as Ra's stood up and put a robe on as he then went behind a dresser to change.

"You freed her when my orders were to bring her back or kill her?" Ra's asked.

"I did what I thought was necessary. Al Taer Sahfer will not betray the League like Malcolm Merlyn did." Nyssa said as Ra's put on his clothes.

"That will be all, my daughter." Ra's said as Nyssa got up and left while Al-Tannin stayed put. "Shado, I assume the fact that you arrive in your current state, that young Nathaniel Queen knows the truth about you."

"He knows that I am alive, but not of our connection, my Lord." Shado said, bowing her head in deference.

"And how has his skill grown?" Ra's asked. SHado told him how he handled himself and Ra's was very pleased to hear it. "Good…" Ra's said privately to himself.

"If it pleases the demon head, I can return there at once to further test his skill." Shado said.

"That will not be necessary. Our paths will cross soon enough. You will see him again in time, granddaughter." Ra's said as he sheathed his sword as he thought, _"We shall see if you have what it takes to take my place, Nathaniel Queen."_

 **Starling City**

Back at Starling, Nathan was in the Prometheus cave, training with a training dummy, letting some of his anger towards his mother and Shado out, striking the dummy very hard for a human. Meanwhile, his clones were keeping his girlfriends entertained. Nathan then stopped as he saw Sara walk down the stairs into the cave.

"You've been crying." Nathan said, noticing her eyes.

"Yeah, I was happy to know I still could." Sara said.

"Are you ok?" Nathan asked.

"Well, Laurel wasn't as thrilled to see me as you thought." Sara said.

"Give her time. Believe me, she wasn't as thrilled to see me either, but she'll come around." Nathan said as he punched the dummy very hard.

"I gave her six years." Sara said as Nathan punched the dummy hard again.

"I gave her five and she was still pissed at me when I first came back." Nathan said as he punched the dummy again really hard.

"What exactly are you taking out on that dummy?" Sara asked.

"So many things that I thought were real…aren't, and it infuriates me." Nathan sighed.

"I guess it's going around." Sara said.

"So what do you plan to do now?" Nathan asked.

"I don't know." Sara said. "What about you?"

"I'm not sure." Nathan said.

"I do know one thing: I'm finally home." Sara said as Nathan pulled her close to him, not willing to let her go again. Sara accepted his advances and two kissed each other.

 **Lemon**

The two of them passionately kissed each other, their tongues battling it out for dominance as Nathan helped her out of her jacket. They continued their war of the tongues as both removed their shirts, their scarred upper torso's a testament to what they had endured over the years. Nathan won their little duel as his tongue explored Sara's mouth and he continued to passionately kiss her. He needed this so much right now. He needed to feel that something from his past was still real. Between Slade, his daughter, and now Shado, he felt like he was being pulled apart at the seems.

"Let's continue this in my bed. I always wanted our first time to be there anyway." Nathan said as he gathered the clothes they had taken off and they walked through a blue portal, coming out inside his bedroom.

"You've got some explaining to do handsome." Sara teased.

"I'll tell you later. Lets get back to what we were doing," Nathan said as they both lost the rest of their clothes leaving them completely naked. Nathan guided them to the bed and he sat against the back of the bed as she moved between his legs. He looked down to see Sara topping him off and he groaned as he felt her tongue swirl around his entire length.

Sara kept licking and sucking and the marvelous piece of meat. She had trouble taking it all since it was so big. So she put as much as she could in her mouth without gagging and with one hand pumped and stroked the rest while the other cupped and massaged his big sack.

Nathan groaned as his hips rose from the bed and he fired off his seed into Sara's mouth. Sara drunk it all as she savored the flavor. Once she cleaned him she looked up and flicked her blonde hair back.

Sara crawled up his body licking, kissing and sucking all the way. Their lips met and they kissed for a bit then Sara moved and lowered her cunt down to Nathan's face. Nathan wasted no time and grabbed Sara's hips and slammed her pussy over his mouth and began devouring her like she was an endless supply of his favorite food.

Sara moaned loudly as she felt Nathan's tongue wiggle inside her. She combed her fingers through his spiky hair, gripping it tightly as she grinded her hips against his face.

Nathan licked, sucked and ate greedily all that Sara had to offer. She tasted divine, that was for sure. He used his front teeth to scrape against her clit, which only made Sara grind her cunt even more into Nathan's face.

"OH God. So fucking good" Sara murmured as her free hand held on to the headboard to keep steady.

Nathan began sucking hard and this caused Sara to come hard. She doused Nathan with her juices that he lapped up. When she finally removed herself from his face his entire face was covered.

"Let me clean that up for you" Sara said with a smile.

She then began licking up her own juices and sharing them with Nathan in tongue kisses. Once Nathan was clean, Nathan pushed Sara down and rolled over on top of her. He looked her in the eyes and kissed her before pushing his meat into her tight cunt. Nathan hissed feeling the tight wet heat envelop him while Sara felt such fulfillment at finally having the man of her dreams inside of her.

Once Nathan was able to fit all of himself in he stayed there for a few moments, "Fuck me" Sara growled breaking the kiss.

Nathan smirk as he began rocking back and forth removing a quarter of his member from Sara then pushing the quarter back in. He started slow with Sara due to what he suspected happened to her after the Battle on the Amazo, but Sara didn't seem to want that. She grabbed Nathan and pulled his face towards hers.

"Don't hold back on me! I've wanted this for ever since I've known you. Fuck me!" Sara growled

Nathan nodded and began thrusting into his fellow blonde harder and faster than before. This pleased Sara and as a reward she pulled Nathan into another kiss. They made out as Nathan kept pumping in and out of her. Sara's hands roamed Nathan's body settling on his back as her nails scraped across.

Nathan didn't mind this as he focused on the job. He did move his head away from Sara and began lavishing her tits with his mouth. Sara moaned from this and held his head there.

Faster, harder they went as sweat covered their bodies while they kept at it. Never stopping at all. With a final thrust Nathan spewed his load into Sara as she had already come twice already. The two laid there panting hard before they kissed each other sloppily again and they started back up, continuing to make love well into the morning.

 **Lemon end**

 **Chapter end**

 **I literally had to rewrite this chapter a dozen times, since Nate powers make most people not really a threat. Anyway, that's all for this chapter.**


End file.
